The ILH boys basketball season will come down to the wire Saturday with a potential three-way playoff possibility for second place and a state berth.
With the Heide &Cook/HHSAA Boys Basketball State Championships beginning a week from Monday due to a late change in scheduling, there are only nine days between the final day of the regular season and the start of the tournament.
Despite the small window, the ILH will jam through a single-elimination tournament next week to determine its champion and the league’s third state berth. The top two teams in the regular season are guaranteed spots at states.
No. 1 Saint Louis logged a 44-37 win over No. 2 Punahou on Thursday night to earn the league’s first automatic berth and the No. 1 seed in the tournament. The Crusaders (9-2) close the regular season on Saturday against winless Damien.
Despite a first-place finish in the regular season, Saint Louis won’t have an opportunity for a playoff if it doesn’t win the tourney.
No. 3 ’Iolani held No. 4 Maryknoll to 13 second-half points and pulled away for a 45-34 victory on Thursday to take over sole possession of second place in the league at 8-3.
Maryknoll and Punahou remain tied at 7-4 after losses on Thursday night, but a three-way tie for second remains a possibility.
The Buffanblu host the Raiders on Saturday, while the Spartans will play visiting Kamehameha. Wins by Maryknoll and Punahou would mean a three-way tie for second place and a two-game playoff beginning Monday to determine the second state berth.
If Maryknoll and Punahou finish tied for third, they would play Monday to determine the No. 3 seed.
On the same day the second-place finisher would be decided if there is a three-way tie, the single-elimination tournament begins with sixth-seeded Mid-Pacific hosting No. 7 seed Damien.
The loser of Tuesday’s possible playoff game for the No. 2 seed would then have to turn around and win two more games over the next two days to make the state tournament. It would need to play six games in six days to win the league title.
The Raiders, who lost both games against Saint Louis but won their only meeting against the Buffanblu in overtime, got a game-high 18 points from freshman JJ Mandaquit in the win over the Spartans, who are the two-time defending state champions.
The game was tied 21-21 at halftime before Mandaquit’s third 3-pointer of the game started a 21-4 run by ‘Iolani to begin the second half.
A Mandaquit block turned into a 3-point play by Taniela Taliauli to put the Raiders ahead 42-25 with 4:02 remaining.
“Any time that you can beat a great team like Maryknoll and do it on senior night for the five seniors is always a great accomplishment,” ‘Iolani coach Ryan Hirata said. “To beat such a good team and well-coached team definitely shows the growth of our team. I’m really proud of our effort.”
