Posted on: Wednesday, November 3, 2004
Punahou boys rally past Pac-Five, 5-4
| • | Riflery: Sacred Hearts, Waiakea prevail |
| • | Volleyball; Kamehameha, Punahou advance |
By Leila Wai
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Punahou boys water polo team overcame a 3-0 deficit to win its fifth straight Interscholastic League of Honolulu title in dramatic fashion.
Punahou defeated Pac-Five, 5-4, in the ILH championship game last night at the Iolani School pool in front of a sign-holding, pompom-waving full house.
Punahou, the regular season champ, and Pac-Five, winner of the ILH tournament, met to determine the league's overall champion.
Ikaika Aki and Geoffrey Long scored two goals each and Alex Lin added one for the Buffanblu.
"Punahou has a big legacy, and we didn't want to lose," Long said of Punahou's 28th title in 31 tries.
The Wolfpack jumped to a 3-0 lead behind goals from Harry Kersten, Cody Edmunds and Jason Fung.
"Our whole premise is based on tight defense," Punahou coach Ken Smith said. "If we keep it up, it starts wearing on teams in the second half.
"We've been in 31 of these games, and we're used to it; it's not new to us. We know what it takes."
With just over a minute left in the second quarter, Aki scored to pull Punahou to 3-1. The Buffanblu scored again on a goal by Lin in the third quarter, and Aki tied the score on a back-handed shot as time expired on the shot clock in the fourth quarter.
"That was a great morale-booster," Aki said. "They had to take a timeout because they had to slow our momentum."
Pac-Five retook the lead on a goal by Christian Flowers, but Long scored two fourth-quarter goals, the second giving the Buffanblu their only lead of the game with 2:18 remaining.
"Once we scored, we knew it was defense," Long said. "One goal is really all you need."
Pac-Five beat Punahou for the first time last Thursday to claim its first ILH tournament title.
"I think Pac-Five set the tone for competitiveness in the ILH," Pac-Five coach Shawn Williamson said. "We came out of nowhere and won seven games."
There is no high school state tournament in water polo.
Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2457.
