After three years of getting close, the Kalani Falcons broke that title door down.

Kalani defeated three-time defending champion Mililani in the Oahu Interscholastic Association boys tennis team championships on Saturday afternoon at sunny, breezy Patsy T. Mink Central Oahu Regional Park.

The Falcons had finished second twice in the past three years. That made this spring season the last opportunity for seniors like Daniel Huang and Rayden Murata to be part of team championship.

“I can’t believe it. After coming short, we finally made it, and with two super tiebreakers,” said Huang, a co-captain.

Murata, another co-captain, won his second singles match against Mililani’s Micah Andrade 6-4, 6-2.

Koby Murata and Nick Ashikawa rallied past Davin Lee and Tobey Chang 2-6, 6-1, 10-4 in first doubles. Huang and Justin Terada outlasted Anson Nakasato and Kash Lee 6-4, 3-6, 10-5 in third doubles. With those three wins in the midst of five simultaneous matches, Kalani clinched the title.

“It’s a great ending to our senior year,” Murata said.

Coach John Dye was stoked.

“They have leadership on the court, their character, bringing everybody together,” he said. “Rayden had a speech at the beginning of the season about being inclusive, all one team together.”

“My hat’s off to Kalani,” Mililani coach Jason Agsalda said. “They were well prepared. Our boys came to play and it came down to two tiebreakers. Kalani played well under pressure.”

On the girls’ side, Mililani came through against Pearl City for its eighth OIA team title in a row. Co-captain Haley Fujimori was in the middle of her first singles match against Pearl City’s Sarah Domingo, leading 7-5, 1-1 when word arrived that her teammates had claimed three matches to secure the team crown.

“It’s such a team effort,” she said of the format. “Everyone can feel part of the team, and it’s representing our community well.”

In second singles, Mililani’s Alysse Nakasato defeated Leslie Fujitani 6-2, 6-3. The second doubles match was a 6-1, 6-3 win by Taryn Fujimori and Erin Jyo over Leilani Yamanouchi and Elyssa Shirai.

In third doubles, Brianna Hull and Halie Chang, both sophomores, defeated Jill Shirai and Nicole Tateishi 6-1, 6-2 to complete the Lady Trojans’ team victory.

“It’s big,” Nakasato said. “It’s what we work for the whole regular season,” she said of the accumulation of points week by week. “We never take any team for granted.

It was also a chance for players like Fujimori and Nakasato to get their last singles swings of the season. The two will pair up in doubles at next month’s state tourney. They reached the quarterfinals in 2014 and the semifinals last year.

“They’ll be top four for sure,” Agsalda said of the upcoming seedings. “Our strength as a team is stronger with them in doubles.”