H1 Thunder 45, Southside's Finest 42 (Inter)

H1 Thunder (#5 seed) 45, Southside's Finest (#4 seed) 42
Maui Summer Classic, Intermediate Division quarterfinals
Micah swished a pull-up 3 from the top with :03 left to cap a huge comeback by the Thunder. We trailed by 10 in the second half and after Ryan fouled out, it looked bleak.

The guys never gave up, though. Our press was relentless and we got threes from Jason, Felcris and especially Josh D, who got hot and rained three treys in. Josh's steal and layup tied the game at 42, and after Southside turned the ball over we got the ball back with less than a minute left. SSF kept trying to halfcourt trap us, but Micah caught a pass in the middle for the go-ahead shot. SSF had no time outs left and the clock ran out before they could shoot.

Huge win for our 8th graders against a team that beat us by 17 points in pool play. Heart and basketball IQ go a long, long way. Semifinal game is tomorrow.

What a rally. Cardiac city.

Next: Saturday, 9:00 am - H1 Thunder (#5 seed) vs. San Fernando Hawks (#2 seed).

H1 Thunder 39, Southside's Finest 32 (JV)

Maui Summer Classic, JV Division
Mosi's back tightened up and he didn't have the same flexibility, but our 8th graders played a near perfect first half on both ends. We led 20-3 at the break.

Jonah played great D on Southside's top scorer for most if the second half. Southside went on us, then went man when Mosi was out of the game. our patience paid iff.

That makes us 3-1 in JV pool play. It helps us get a nice seeding when the playoffs begin tomorrow. But it's all elimination play after that. Woohooo.

Southside's Finest 50, H1 Thunder 43 (Inter)

Maui Summer Classic, Intermediate Division
Started out slowly, down 10-2, and struggled to hit open shots. Southside had height, a couple of 6-footers, and a 5-10 kid who reminds me of a young Kila Kamakawiwoole. Great slasher, can go coast to coast. He shredded us in the first half. Second half, we rallied from 14 or 15 down, finally hit open threes — we passed up open threes at least five times in this game, maybe due to fatigue from the earlier JV game? — as Micah got hot. Felcris hit from deep and Jonah sank a huge corner 3. We got within 46-43 with about 1 minute left - while the scoreboard operator got it mixed up and had us down 49-39, then 49-43, and then finally 46-43.

We got the ball back and didn't run a set play. Felcris got an early open 3 from the top and missed, and we gave up two straight layups in the final seconds. It was a valiant second-half performance. We played with great heart, but we've got to play a little smarter, a little more physically and be willing to send their big guys to the FT line. Until then, we're going to fall behind because we're not boxing out and being physical no matter how many threes we hit.

I'm optimistic though. We played a solid second half for the most part, took away their lefty slasher (foul trouble and Jonah played great man defense on him). We got better as the game progressed in spite of our fatigue and Josh D's elbow injury.

Can we play three games (two JV, one Inter) tomorrow and win despite the low numbers? Why not. The good news is that Pool Play in this tournament is merely for seedings in the playoffs. Every team makes the championship bracket. We've got time to get better.

Lineup: Micah Visoria​, Ryan Higashionna, Josh M DE Jesus​, Jason Doyle, Felcris Ahadain​, Jonah Gormley, Chaz Enos​.