Punahou's Tamatoa Falatea, who scored team-high 19 points, puts up a jump shot against Kailua in the second quarter. Michael Lasquero | SL

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Kailua's Everett Torres-Kahapea draws the attention of three defenders in the first half. He led all scorers with 21 points. Michael Lasquero | SL

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Sat, Dec 8, 2018 @ Moanalua

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Punahou

80

Kailua

55

Final	1	2	3	4
Punahou (11-4, 29-6)	17	24	19	20	80
Kailua (10-4, 20-14)	19	21	7	8	55

E. Torres-Kahapea 21 pts  3 3pm  4/5 FTs

L. Falatea 19 pts  2 3pm  5/5 FTs

SALT LAKE — Punahou overcame an early nine-point deficit and pressed Kailua in resounding fashion, 80-55, Saturday in the final day of the Moanalua-hosted OIA-ILH Challenge at Na Menehune gym.

The Buffanblu (8-1) finished 3-0 in the three-day event that schedules perennial contenders from Oahu Interscholastic Association against Interscholastic League of Honolulu teams, all of which could be considered contenders annually.

Tamatoa Falatea led a Punahou quartet of double-digit scorers with 19 points. Andrew Kobayashi came off the bench to follow with 14 points, with Kaulana Makaula and Peyton Macapulay adding 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Kailua's Everett Torres-Kahapea led all scorers with 21 points, including three 3-pointers. Isaiah Hopson had 14 and Lydell Romero added 13 for the Surfriders (4-4), who finished 1-2 in the event; they beat Kamehameha on Thursday.

Punahou's pressing and trapping wore down Kailua, which quickly saw its one-point halftime deficit widen to double digits.

Punahou trailed by as many as nine in the first half, but turned out the jets down the stretch to torch Kailua, 80-55, in the final day of the annual OIA-ILH challenge at Moanalua. Tamatoa Falatea scored 19 points and Andrew Kobayashi added 14 off the bench to lead the Buffanblu. pic.twitter.com/7wBJ9Lhfo6

— Michael Lasquero (@SL_Mich) December 9, 2018

"The intensity of the trap prepares us for when we play in the OIA East," Kailua coach Walter Marciel said. "Three nights of playing (against) trap basketball is tough."

Punahou opponents can expect 32 minutes of harassment from its athletic squad. 

"That's kind of our culture, that's what we do," Punahou coach Darren Matsuda said. "We like an up-tempo game. We like to speed up the game. We like to play up and down."

The Surfriders led 27-18 about midway through the second period after successive 3-pointers from Nainoa Peters and Michael Kim. Kailua led 37-35 with 1:32 left in the half, but the Buffanblu reeled off a 6-0 run with four points coming off Kailua turnovers to take a 41-37 lead. Torres-Kahapea's 3 with 13 seconds left pulled the Surfriders to 41-40 at the half.

Kailua's Everett Torres-Kahapea draws the attention of three defenders in the first half. He led all scorers with 21 points. Michael Lasquero | SL    Purchase image

"In preseason, we up all 15 guys in in the first quarter," Matsuda said of the team's slow start. "That's what this is all about. It's really developing your kids, getting some playing time to see what they can do. Sometimes, the inexperience shows a little bit."

Punahou pulled away in the third, causing nine Kailua turnovers. Makaula began the period scoring off a steal and Kobayashi closed in the same fashion, as Punahou took a 60-47 lead into the fourth. Turnovers continued to plague Kailua in the fourth.

"This year, we're super long and fast," Punahou's Falatea said. "We come out with energy and we take pride in our defense. Just playing together, playing team first, that's just how we roll."

Both teams resume play Monday in the Saint Francis tournament. Kailua plays Damien at 3:30 p.m. and Punahou plays Kahuku at 6:30 p.m. Kailua will be playing in the Iolani Classic later this month.