John Lujan | Special to SL

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For NBA fans that can't wait till the playoffs in late April, the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I has you covered. 

Saturday's playoff semifinals at Kekuhaupio Gymnasium was littered with passionate fans as spectators were lined up outside before the start of the doubleheader. Artificial noisemakers that you hear during the FIFA World Cup filled the air when teams had free throw attempts and the reactions of the crowd only heighten the effect of each call that the officials made.

I for one had no complaints covering additional games that weren't on the schedule at the start of the season. Fortunately both semifinal games were scheduled at the same location so I could get two helpings of the best basketball league in the state.

Here are a couple of observations I had:

The teams that attacked the basket the most won the game. Iolani was able to control the paint against Punahou with Hugh Hogland at the post and Saint Louis' Tristan Nichols was too much for Kamehameha in the second semifinal. 

For the most part, I thought the Buffanblu went away from what was keeping Iolani at bay early on in the second half. As a collective whole, I would say Punahou's tandem of Jack-Eli Thompson-Tufono and Akahi Troske outweighs Iolani's Hogland and reserve Cameron Chang. Thompson-Tufuno has capable post moves to score on Hogland and Akahi Troske wreaks havoc against the Raiders' second unit. 

In the second half and overtime the Buffanblu settled for more jump shots than they did in the first half. Sure having Hogland in the middle plays a role in that, but I'd like to see a team try to get him in foul trouble to take away the Raiders' rim protector. Closing out on shooters is a lot easier when you have a 6-foot-9 guy protecting the basket.

Saint Louis on the other hand handled Kamehameha with ease, using a 20 to 5 second quarter to put the game out of reach. The frontcourt lineup of Nichols, Noa Purcell and Lance Sataraka gave the Crusaders' girth against the Warriors' guard-heavy lineup. With no way to stop Saint Louis' size, Kamehameha often were whistled for contact. By the time the game was over, there was a total of 71 free throw attempts combined between the two teams.

The size advantage also helped the Crusaders overcome ball security issues. Saint Louis had 24 turnovers at the end of the game, the most that I have ever seen a winning team have since I started tracking full stats — at least for boys basketball.

There also wasn't many 3-point shots that found the bottom of the net. While I think this trend will continue for most teams in the league's single-elimination tournament, the team that does find the shooting touch from the perimeter will be the ILH's overall champion.

I guess a more positive note that I took down after both games was that all four coaches was almost indifferent whether their respective team won or loss and kept things in perspective in regards to the whole season. 

For the winners, there was still at least two more games left that they would need to play in. For the losers, they were still in the running for a state berth and a possible first round bye despite coming up on the short end.

Saint Louis coach Allan Silva could still see that his team will need to play a lot better even though his team won by double digits. Punahou coach Darren Matsuda was proud of the way his team played and knows that the game could have gone either way. The bottom line is that all coaches want to make sure that their team is playing the best brand of basketball in every game.

Now for the question some might be asking. Who wins Monday's playoff final and who clinches the regular season and one of the two state berths that the league gets? My gut feeling is to go with the Raiders.

Iolani is a team that will stay disciplined and stay the course even though it may not have the lead. Saint Louis' turnovers concern me, which plays right into the hands of Iolani's Robby Mann. The senior forward jumpstarted the first semifinal with a fast break one-handed slam and was hacked on other open court opportunities.

Free throws are also the great equalizer. Nichols was 9-for-17 at the line against Kamehameha and openly admitted that it's a good strategy for teams to foul him. Iolani had some uncharacteristic issues at the line against Punahou towards the end of the overtime period, something that I'm sure will be fixed in time for Monday's final.

I'm not going to say that Saint Louis won't this one either. The Crusaders have shortened their rotation and have used it to great success. Nichols still has the weight advantage on Hogland and can open things up if Hogland is in foul trouble. Guards Jaymason Nunuha and Issac Slade-Matautia are also active on the perimeter and can hit the open 3-point shot when the opportunity arises.

If you want a score prediction though, I see Iolani winning it 43-35 in a grinder. From what I can tell, the Raiders have the most room for improvement out of the six ILH teams. If they can get their 3-point shot to fall on a consistent basis, watch out. Senior guard Zach Gelacio also went without a field goal against Punahou, something I don't think will happen again for the rest of the year.