ILH Boys Basketball
Saint Louis grinds out OT win over Maryknoll to win ILH Division I title


  



Wed, Feb 1, 2023 @ Saint Louis


F/OT 1 2 3 4 OT  
Maryknoll (10-5, 26-7) 10 868436
Saint Louis (9-4, 27-7) 9 10 6 7941
P. Sepulona 11 pts  5/7 FTs
H. Marumoto 12 pts  2 3pm  2/2 FTs
P. Sepulona 7 tot  3 off  4 def
J. Lilio 5 tot  2 off  3 def
J. Yap 4 ast

Another year, same result.

For the second time in as many seasons, the ILH Division I boys champion was decided in a winner-take-all game at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletic Center, with now two-time defending league champion Saint Louis prevailing, this one an overtime thriller against Maryknoll, 41-36, marking the fourth time the Crusaders toppled its ILH rival this season against no defeats.

"It feels great going 4-0 against a great team like Maryknoll," said Pupu Sepulona. "Today I had a rough start but my team stepped up, Shancin (Revuelto), Jordan (Nunuha), they did their part, knocked down shots, played good defense. I'm proud of my boys and I love them."

Justin Yap hit a running jumper just inside the key as time expired in regulation, tying the score at 32-all, the sixth time the score was knotted in the game.

The overtime period saw the Crusaders control the opening tip and methodically run its offense for nearly half of the four minute period before finding Pupualii Sepulona on the low block, where he finished strong to give the home team the lead at the 2:32 mark. The lead was pushed out to four on the ensuing possession, when Sepulona took the inbounds pass, drove to the top of the arc and found a wide open Jordan Nunuha unguarded near the baseline for an easy layup.

Hunter Marumoto drilled a three from the corner with just under a minute left to trim the lead to just a point, but 5 of 6 free throws made down the stretch for the Crusaders became the deciding factor.

"Coming from the game against Punahou, we shot 6 for 16," said Revuelto. "So the whole two days of practice all we did was focus on free throws."

It paid off.

Revuelto made his two attempts in the overtime and another in the first half, part of 11 of 14 attempts at the charity stripe made by the Crusaders as a team.

He also was key in setting up a game-icing pair of free throws with a football-esque play drawn up in the closing seconds.

Greg Yamamoto | SL    Purchase image

"Coach Dan drew up a play and said throw it down to Pupu," said Revuelto, who played quarterback for Saint Louis' D1AA team. "With only four seconds left, and he caught it."

Sepulona, who had hit just two of four free throws in the game prior, left nothing to chance with his last two attempts at the line, swishing them both.

"I was just trying to focus," said Sepulona of the two critical makes in the closing seconds. "These past few games I haven't been making my free throws, but today's game was really important so I just had to focus more and concentrate on my free throws."

Maryknoll deployed a box and one defense to try and disrupt Sepulona's touches, and after holding him to just three points in the first half, the strategy seemed to be working. He still finished with a team-high 11 points, but it was less the lack of scoring, and more the four assists he tallied that stood out.

"I knew they were doing box and one me and double teaming me," said Sepulona. "So I just had to find my open teammates and I did."

Saint Louis' bench outscored Maryknoll, 10-0, with eight big points coming courtesy of Stone Kanoa.

"I wasn't just me, it was my brothers," said Kanoa. "They helped me get the points." 

The first half was back and forth from the opening tip. Maryknoll extended to a five point lead on a steal by Jerome Lilio that sparked a fast break capped off by a  Yap layup. 

Saint Louis quickly closed the gap, with a point blank make by Jordan Posiulai followed by a three by  Revuelto to tie the game back up.

Keanu Meachem connected with a triple with 2:09 left to push the home team up 19-16, but Hunter Marumoto countered with a make with 1:34 to make it a one point margin at the half.

A big factor in the game for both teams was the crowd, but perhaps a little bit of an edge to the "student section" for the Crusaders, nearly every one of them dressed in neon yellow shirts and construction hats.

"Our crowd was loud, they were giving Maryknoll some problems, making them nervous, but us, we're used to this crowd," said Sepulona.

"We love our school, we have school spirit and that's what we were showing the whole time," Nunuha added.

Both teams will represent the ILH in the upcoming HHSAA Division I boys basketball championships.





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