Staff Blog
Punahou's long journey ends with 11th title




The Buffanblu played for one another throughout the course of the season and their execution on both ends of the floor culminated in the school's first state title since 2012 over Kahuku, a team that routed them in last year's final.

Hoisting the koa trophy also lifted the heartache of finishing second the past two seasons that the returnees never forgot.

"Eight of the kids were on that team for two years. This is for the guys who graduated like Chris Kobayashi, Akahi Troske, JB Kam. All those guys. I'm proud of the guys, they played a great game and they had a great season and stuck through good times and bad times," said Punahou coach Darren Matsuda.

Many of the seniors have known and played with each other for years, and that relationship went beyond the court. Those strong bonds paid dividends in the end.

"I've been playing with Cole (Mausolf), Hunter (Hosoda) and Cortez (Feria) for I don't know how long, but it's amazing," said Zayne Chong, who was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

"They're my brothers, they're my family, added Cole Arceneaux. "Maybe 30 years from now, I can call them on the phone and tell them I love them and talk about the time we won it."

Punahou would go on to rout McKinley in the opener and handle the Lunas for a third-straight year. The Buffanblu led over Moanalua by as much as 17 before holding off a frantic Na Menehune rally and won by six. Following the semifinals win, Matsuda couldn't help but like his chances and he somehow felt it was meant to be.

Avenging last year's loss to Kahuku with a 27-point win was the icing on the cake.

"It was our night. I felt it when I woke up this morning," said Matsuda. "I told the kids after the game last night (against Moanalua) that we were going to win this. It's their time to win and it's their destiny. They played with a lot of confidence and played Punahou basketball."

There were four different leading scorers in their state tournament run: Arceneaux scored 14 against McKinley, in the quarterfinals against Lahainaluna, Hunter Hosoda led the way with 18, Chong went off for 22 against Moanalua in the semis, and Tamatoa Falatea came off the bench to score a team-high 12 points against the Red Raiders. Once Punahou got it going on offense, it was hard to stop and teams had to pick their poison.

Whether it was finding a cutter to the hoop or kicking it out to an open shooter on the perimeter, it was the style of basketball that made it fun for everyone. The Buffanblu as a team had 54 assists for the tournament. The style of play and mindset feels similar to a professional team with the same color scheme.

"I compare us to the Golden State Warriors," said Arceneaux, who echoed the same sentiments after the McKinley game. "When we get the ball moving, we're unstoppable and everyone touched the ball tonight. It's fun and the ball needs to move and we're happy when our brothers score."

The Buffanblu's full court press often times got opponents out of their comfort zone and it led to turnovers. Punahou forced 61 total turnovers in the tournament and in the first quarter alone it forced seven turnovers that led to 10 points and the Red Raiders never recovered.

Tolu Smith commanded a lot of attention and Punahou relied on their help defense to get seven steals and didn't give the 6-foot-10 center easy looks at the basket despite finishing with 23 points. Punahou clogged the paint and Smith would have to face multiple defenders before hoisting up a shot.

"We played a lot of packing the line and choking the post and we wanted to be aggressive on the ball," said Matsuda, on the defensive game plan.

"Last year we deviated from what we did. We jabbed and blows came in the form of turnovers. We believed in coach Darren and the plan and that's what we did," said Arceneaux.

Punahou dominated its competition in the preseason, but suffered losses to finish 10-3 in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I, the toughest division in the state.

The team did some reflecting after an upset loss to Iolani, 63-58, back on Jan. 27 to end regular season play and lost the ILH championship game to across-the-street rival Maryknoll, 57-52, on Feb. 7. Those losses turned out to be blessings in disguise.

"We had to focus on ourselves. We didn't prep for anyone. We focused on the basics and fundamentals and we found ourselves again," said Chong.

The journey wasn't easy, but clinching the school's 11th title was the perfect ending for a storybook season.



Reach Brandon Ching at [email protected].




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