HILO – Kiai Apele remembers his first title when he was a freshman in 2017, but his second will be far more memorable because he put up monster numbers.
The junior guard scored 21 points on 7 of 9 shooting to lift Waiakea over Hilo 67-45 in the BIIF Division I championship on Wednesday night at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium, helping the Warriors win their third title in four years.
The Vikings (8-6) will host Iolani at 3:30 p.m. in an HHSAA first-round game Monday at their gym. The Warriors (13-1) will play in the quarterfinals at the state tourney, which runs through Saturday on Oahu.
The last time the two met for the BIIF crown was in 2010, when Hilo won and finished as the BIIF runner-up the next two seasons.
Apele also grabbed 11 rebounds for a double-double and had a fantastic ball-handling night with 10 assists and five turnovers, and he picked up three steals.
“It’s great and feels like my freshman year,” Apele said. “Our game plan was to play defense, rebound and get in transition and finish. That’s our strength. We’ve got good finishers, Keegan Scanlan, Will Soares, Elijah Blankenship, and Peter Suiaunoa.
“It feels good. I put in a lot of hard work during the offseason.”
Scanlan added 14 points and Suiaunoa had 13 points for the Warriors, who shot 47 percent (22 of 47), including 5 of 17 from 3-point range.
Kaukahi Alameda scored 18 points on 5 of 16 shooting, and Mason Galima had 10 points for the Vikings, who shot just 27 percent (15 of 56), including 6 of 19 from long distance.
Waiakea also got easy points at the free throw line. The Warriors made 18 of 28 from the line while the Viks made 9 of 12.
The Vikings’ Achilles heel showed up early, and it cost them six points. They didn’t hustle back on defense to start the game, and Suiaunoa scored three layups in transition when he beat the defense down the court.
It was only 9-3 in Waiakea’s favor, but a tone had been set and the lead was never lost. The Warriors were determined to outhustle the Viks down the court and that mindset led to a 36-25 halftime lead.
“Peter gave us life in the first quarter,” Waiakea coach Paul Lee said. “After an opponent scores, we try to score within three seconds. That puts pressure on the other team.”
To start the second quarter, Galima hit a jump shot, and Jonah Tominaga scored off an inbound play. But Hilo couldn’t put together long scoring stretches.
Apele snagged a turnover and beat Hilo’s defense down the court for a layup. Alameda answered with a 3-pointer and got Hilo within 18-17.
But Apele raced to the rim, missed a shot and was fouled. He buried both free throws, and Scanlan drilled a 3-pointer for a 22-17 lead.
Alameda buried another triple, but Scanlan beat Hilo’s defense down the court for another transition layup. Then Apele got another transition layup off a turnover for a 26-20 lead.
Waiakea closed the second quarter with an 8-2 run. Scanlan and Apele swished 3-pointers, and Apele had two free throws with 1.3 seconds left to build a 36-15 halftime lead.
The Warriors had more layups in transition, 11-2, and also dominated the boards, outrebounding Hilo, 46-29.
Waiakea junior Makana Kaehuaea-Credo was a beast under the boards with 13 rebounds, 12 on the defensive end to often hold Hilo to one shot.
“It’s exciting to get three titles in the last four years,” Lee said. “It’s hard enough to get one, but some of our guys (Soares and Rekky Prudencio) have three. This group was expected to be the favorite. But you still have to go out and play the game.”
Hilo 10 15 11 9 — 45
Waiakea 16 20 12 19 — 67