Saint Louis holds off Punahou for fourth straight league championship

Greg Yamamoto | SL

Like clockwork, the Crusade continues on in the ILH for at least one more season.

Three-time defending state champion Saint Louis held off a valiant effort by Punahou, 63-56, to win its fourth straight league crown, earning a seeded berth in the process.

Punahou entered the ILH championship game without its two leading scorers in Tanoa Scanlan and Zion White. Scanlan was averaging 17.5 points per game before a hand injury sat him out of the last two games of league play, while White (13.3 ppg) was out with an undisclosed illness.

Don't let the injury report fool you, however — this game was a battle until the end.

The undefeated Crusaders came out uncharacteristically sluggish in the early minutes of the game. The methodical motion offense and low post scoring that has come to be their signature seemed disoriented by an energetic Punahou defense. Saint Louis fans didn't have much to worry about, however, as Calean Fernando single-handedly wiped away turnovers and defensive miscues with 10 of the home team's 15 first-quarter points.

"I try to be the energy for the team. I try to push everyone else to be better, grabbing rebounds, communicating. Once we get going, it's all good from there," Fernando said on his hot start.

"He set the tone for us; he hit some good shots. We always want to make sure we don't leave Pupu hanging out there without getting touches, but when they are dropping 2-3 guys on him, the other guys have got to make plays, and Calean in that first quarter definitely did."

The Crusaders only built on their three point lead in the second quarter, as Shancin Revuelto and Keanu Mecham forced Punahou out of their 2-3 zone with timely outside shooting. On the other end, sharpshooter Ethan Chung stepped up with 16 points for Punahou despite facing even more defensive pressure than usual, attacking closeouts and finishing tough layups against the physical Saint Louis frontcourt.

"There's certain things that you want to take away from them and certain things that you have to give them if you want to play a zone, and they hit some big shots," Punahou head coach Darren Matsuda said.

Still, the defending champs had settled in, as the score read 31-22 at the half. More importantly for the Saint Louis faithful, with a bucket and a free throw right at the end of the second quarter, the Brotherhood's chosen son had woken up.

After being held to only 5 points in the first half, Pupu Sepulona exploded for 13 more in the second. The two-time ILH player of the year simply looked unstoppable. Nahua Lloyd, who did an excellent job defensively on post player Koa Laboy just six days prior, had no answer for Sepulona.

Although it felt closer, the Crusders' lead largely remained double digits until a flurry of threes from Tate Takemiya and Houston Hosoda pulled Punahou to within five with 39 seconds left. This three-peat STL group is no stranger to closing games however, and soon enough, the three-peat turned four.

"We are very fortunate to have players who are so committed... That's what the key is, to be committed," Hale said when asked about the program's secret to success.

"Trust. Trust is a big thing for us... If we're not hitting, it might be tough; but we still push through, and we still battle through adversity. Everyone has a target on us; everyone wants to give us their best game, so we just need to have trust, have faith, and believe in one another," Fernando added.

Now, both teams look towards the HHSAA Division I state tournament, where Saint Louis will await the winner of Leilehua and Konawaena in a Wednesday quarterfinal, while Punahou will take on Moanalua on Monday at Hemmeter Fieldhouse.

"We just have to go with what we have, and hopefully everyone gets healthy. But our mindset is: we are a team. So we have to play like a team. When we play together and play as a team, we are going to be in the game no matter who we have. That's our culture, that's what we do, and that's Punahou basketball," Matsuda said.