MAKIKI – In a game of traded runs, the three-point shot proved to be the difference. 

Punahou, ranked No. 1 in the ScoringLive/OC16 Boys Basketball Power Rankings, connected on ten triples to torch No. 9 Baldwin, 46-39, in the championship game of the 42nd annual Punahou Boys Basketball Invitational Saturday afternoon at Punahou’s Hemmeter Fieldhouse.

“We played good,” said Punahou’s Justin Kam who led the team with 16 points. “We stuck together as a team and we just kept feeling (the energy) off each other. We brought the heat as coach says.” 

In addition to his team-high 16 points, Kam also connected on four triples to spearhead the 3-point effort. Point guard Dayson Watanabe and reserve Chris Kobayashi chipped in with two triples each, finishing with 12 and six points respectively. 

“I think we’re a good three-point shooting team,” said Kam on the success beyond the arc. “Coach just kept telling us to shoot so we just let if fly.”

Lighting it up from 3-point land wasn’t the case for the Buffanblu early on. The home team started the game off going 0-for-5 from the field, and 0-for-3 beyond the arc. In the midst of the Buffanblu’s early shooting struggles, Baldwin was able to rattle seven points, gaining a 7-0 lead within the first three minutes of the game.

Punahou coach Darren Matsuda immediately called timeout once they were down by seven to calm his team down. Whatever was said in the timeout was the perfect remedy to the Buffanblu early struggles as Kam hit a trey from the wing out of the timeout, spurring a 14-2 Buffanblu run to close out the first quarter. 

“They packed in a zone (defense) on us,” Matsuda elaborated on what Baldwin did to stymie their offense. “We have good shooters (but) in the beginning we started off a little cold. They’re a tough team.  (Fortunately) we were able to get into a rhythm.”

The second quarter continued to be battle of runs and determination. Baldwin’s Teva Eldridge’s bucket and foul on Punahou’s Ronley Lakalaka helped the Bears cut the Buffanblu lead to one. Punahou then responded with an 8-0 run, highlighted by back-to-back triples from Kobayashi. Following the script, the Bears closed out the first half with a 7-0 run of their own, cutting it down to 22-20 at the half.

Baldwin continued to remain hot in spite of the break between halves, starting the second half on a 10-2 run. Kody Takushi’s steal and finish on the fast break capped the run, prompting Matsuda to call timeout with 4:47 remaining in the third quarter.

Following the timeout, Punahou went on a 15-4 run to close out the quarter. Kam highlighted this Buffanblu run, knocking down three triples to give Punahou a five-point leading heading into the fourth. All of Kam’s treys in the quarter were assisted from Randon Oda.

One big reason why the Buffanblu were able to launch a huge run was because they were able to get multiple offensive rebounds on several possessions. This led to extra time off the clock and extra open looks. 

“It’s about being aggressive trying to be quick to the ball, and our guys did a good job today at that,” Matsuda said on their offensive rebounding. “That’s a tough team.  They were boxing out too so I was happy with our guys being aggressive. Baldwin’s very fundamentally sound and to get offensive rebounds against a team that boxes out consistently is an effort thing.” 

Foul trouble hampered the Bears’ starters in the final period of regulation, limiting their effectiveness and aggressiveness. At one point Baldwin even let Watanabe dribble off over a minute off the clock while the score was 44-39, as a strategy to counter their foul trouble.

“We figured the gap was five points at that time,” explained Baldwin coach Wayne Gushiken. “They’re shortening the game for us.  We figure we let them do it because we were in foul trouble. It didn’t work out for us, but it’s part of the game. 

The strategy initially paid of on the defensive end, but the Bears were unable to successfully generate any offense on the other end. Baldwin turned it over twice in the last 65 seconds of regulation and Watanabe hit two free throws before the end of regulation to make the final score 46-39.

“We’re starting to get a little more comfortable with what we’re doing,” Matsuda said after the win. “We have a long way to where we want to be, and that’s going to take some time. I think with each day comes by and each new challenge comes, it’s showing us different looks. We have hit some adversity, but we are happy we are 11-0.  But that doesn’t matter (much), we just hope to keep building and building.”

Eldridge led a valiant effort against the Buffanblu, notching a double double of 17 points and ten rebounds to lead the Bears. Baldwin was without Ryan Garces, their leading scorer from over a night ago. Garces returned home to Maui for a school function.