They fought hard, but the boys' varsity waterpolo team found itself playing catchup for most of the playoff game against Punahou Thursday evening, and was never able to take a lead.
Ultimately, the large crowd at the Kamehameha pool saw Punahou take home its umpteenth waterpolo crown with a 10-7 victory over the never-say-die Raiders.
In the first quarter, the two teams were like boxers, feeling each other out and trading jabs. 'Iolani had some hard shots on goal, but they were either blocked by the Punahou goalie or skidded just high or wide. It's a game of inches. On one offensive foray into the Punahou end, 'Iolani enjoyed a two man advantage, but was unable to convert that into a score. The quarter ended in a scoreless tie, but the action was about to pick up.
In the second quarter, Punahou scored first, just thirty seconds into the period and again three minutes later, jumping to a 2-0 lead, a gap that was to haunt the Raiders for the whole game. With just seven seconds left, Josh Busse put the Raiders on the board for the first time, and the half ended Punahou 2, 'Iolani 1.
Raider fans took hope in the third quarter as Victor Wong scored, pulling 'Iolani into a tie, but jubilation was short lived as Punahou went on a scoring spree, pouring in four unanswered goals to claim a 6-2 lead before another late 'Iolani score cut the margin to three. Adding to the list of bad breaks and missed chances, 'Iolani skidded a penalty shot wide to the left with less than a minute remaining in the period.
Fourth quarter was more of the same: Punahou padding its lead to 8-3 before the Raiders mounted a too-little, too-late rally. Stephen Lim led the 'Iolani charge scoring on his own rebound from yet another penalty shot, and cutting the margin to that same two goal gap, 9-7, before Punahou administered the coup de grace for their 10-7 victory.
'Iolani fans watched a valiant, hard-working team succumb to bad breaks, a hot goalie, and a well-coached adversary. Nothing to hang one's head about, but a bitter pill to swallow all the same.
