HILO — Kamehameha has a deep arsenal of scoring weapons, and it was Bayley Manliguis’ turn to take over at the St. Joseph Cardinal Classic Basketball Tournament.
Manliguis scored 26 points, including 18 points in the second half, to spark the Warriors over Konawaena 63-55 for the championship on Saturday at Hilo Civic, claiming their second tournament after winning the Keaau-Waiakea title earlier.
It was a rematch of last season’s BIIF Division I championship, which Kona won 51-49 over Kamehameha, and turned into something of a statement game.
The Warriors have athleticism all over the place, and the Wildcats didn’t have anyone who could stay in front of Manliguis, a senior guard, who beat defenders off the dribble for pull-up jumpers and layups. For good measure, he also buried three 3-pointers.
“He had a shaky start but we knew he’d pick things up and he carried us in the fourth quarter (with 11 points),” Kamehameha coach Vince Ulloa said.
Nalu Kahapea added 10 points and Kaeo Batacan nine for Kamehameha, which shot 41 percent (23 of 56).
The alarming part for Kona was that the most athletic Warrior, senior forward Pukana Vincent, had just eight points, mostly because he deferred to Manliguis, who was on fire and pretty much made every clean shot he took.
Austin Aukai scored 14 points, Kamakana Ching 11, Austin Ewing 10 and Maitland Akau had eight points for Kona, which converted 53 percent (24 of 57) from the field.
One reason the Wildcats shot for a high percentage was because when Ching got the ball on the low block he would turn and elevate above everyone for, basically, an uncontested shot. The junior center would also kick out the ball to his long-range shooters when the double teams collapsed for open looks.
In the first quarter, the young Wildcats showed their athleticism to take an 18-8 lead. It looked like the three-time defending BIIF champs would rely on layups and ball movement to find clean shots to build a bigger cushion.
“I liked the way we responded to adversity,” Ulloa said. “Kona is a great team. They move the ball and take great shots. It was punch in the stomach in the first quarter, but we battled back.”
But in the second quarter, the game turned upside down when Kamehameha switched from a man to a 1-2-2 zone, and Kona went with a matchup 2-3 zone.
The Wildcats’ shooting touch went cold while Kamehameha slashed into lanes for close-range buckets, and outscored Kona 24-5 to take a 32-23 halftime lead.
During that run, Batacan scored on a layup off a turnover, hit a pull-up jumper and drained a 3-ball, pumping in points from every distance on the court. Vincent got six of his eight points in the second quarter.
Kamehameha took a 48-34 lead into the fourth quarter. But the final eight minutes turned into a wild ride. The Warriors had six turnovers; the Wildcats none.
Ewing is a hawk always on the lookout for an easy meal. He’s got an uncanny nose for the ball, quick hands and a smooth finishing touch for layups. The sophomore point guard flashed those skills in the final minute.
He got a steal and an easy layup, a putback fadeaway off a long rebound, and scored a highlight reverse layup off another turnover.
But Batacan was fouled with 29.3 seconds left. He missed the front end of a one-and-one, but teammate Colin Calip snagged the offensive rebound. Batacan was fouled again and sank both free throws for a 60-55 lead with 21.7 to go.
Kona scored more second-chance points on putbacks, 14-10, and finished with 12 turnovers, one less than the Warriors.
The Wildcats did several key things better. They also play with the type of team chemistry usually reserved for a lineup full of seniors. Their only senior starter is rugged rebounder Ryan Malone, who’s injured.
But when the Warriors needed a spark, Manliguis provided the scoring and enough of a cushion to stiff-arm Kona’s comeback attempt.
“We got a little comfortable with the lead,” Ulloa said. “We have to learn how to close games better. The nice thing about the team is different guys can score on different nights.”
