Both the Red Raiders and the Surfriders bring in four-game winning streaks heading into Saturday's contest. ScoringLive photo illustration

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Both the Red Raiders and the Surfriders bring in four-game winning streaks heading into Saturday's contest. ScoringLive photo illustration

View image 1 of 1

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Two of the hottest teams in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Eastern Division are set for a collision course this weekend.

Kahuku, ranked third in the ScoringLive/OC16 Boys Basketball Power Rankings, will visit Kailua in a pivotal game in regards to the league standings. The Red Raiders bring a 5-1 record into the contest while the Surfriders (4-2) have bounced back from an early 0-2 start to win four straight. 

One of the challenges that the Red Raiders have had to face this year is dealing with injuries, most of it football related.

"With coaching at Kahuku, you get a lot of good athletes, but most of them are football players," said first-year coach Alan Akina. "We don't have the preseason workouts that most teams would have – especially that our football team is really good, so we have to wait for our football players. It's a challenge because they get to us for a late start, they need a couple of weeks to get in (basketball) shape."

The Red Raiders' leading scorer from last year, Hirkley Latu, is out for the season due to a torn labrum while projected starting point guard Alohi Gilman is still nursing an ankle injury sustained from the Polynesian All-American Bowl. 

However, Akina also sees this challenge in a positive light. To this day, the Red Raiders have had only two full practices where everyone was available. The Red Raiders still haven't reached their full potential, something that bodes well with a potential championship run. 

"On the other side trying to think postive, I say ‘you know what, we've only had two full practices. We're here, we're right at the halfway mark and we have all this room to grow. We have all this potential and hopefully we can peak towards the end of the year.' That's the goal," said Akina.

"We haven't hit our full potential. For a lot of other teams, I think they are already in full stride because they've practiced in December, so they've gone already to where they can go or close to it." 

For the Surfriders, the next two games will be a good measuring stick on where they stand as a team. After Kahuku, Kailua will face off with top-ranked Kalaheo (6-0).

"I told the guys after the Anuenue game, ‘we're going to play the next two games against the No. 3 and No. 1 in the state. This is where we have to bring it,'" said Kailua coach Wally Marciel. "It's going to be a tough ball game and I think our kids are ready to take the challenge."

Key players for the Surfriders in the backcourt are guards Noah Ah Yat and Nainoa Mercado. Leading the way in the frontcourt is Noah Auld, Christian Mejia and Hano Kohatsu. This has helped Kailua become a more balanced team this year. 

"We got some good guard play with Ah Yat and Mercado, and we got big guys like Mejia, Auld and of course Kohatsu," said Marciel. "Guys have been double-teaming Kohatsu and it frees up Mejia to score points. With our post play and our and out outside shooting, we're a little more balanced than we were last year." 

Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.