Warrior Insider

The opening night of the Hawai’i Development League offered a look at the development of Zigmars Raimo.

The 6-foot-7 junior forward had 27 points and 11 rebounds to lead Ultimate Roofing to a 78-77 comeback victory over Electricians Hawaii on Monday night at Saint Francis School gym. Raimo was one of four players on the current University of Hawai’i basketball roster to see action in the two HD League games on Monday.

Raimo averaged 2.7 points and 1.7 rebounds per game as a sophomore reserve last season with the Rainbow Warriors. On Monday night, he was a force inside, scoring most of his points in the paint.

“I was just enjoying the game,” Raimo said. “I was just running and making good shot selection, and making my shots.”

Ultimate Roofing trailed by 20 points early in the second half, but Raimo’s basket with just under two minutes remaining put his team ahead for good, 75-73. UH teammate Brandon Thomas got a steal and drained two free throws in the closing seconds to secure the win.

“It went good,” Raimo said. “We won by one and we were down by 20, so we had a good effort. The team played good at the end, and I’m just happy for the team.”

Thomas, another reserve player for the Warriors last season, added 11 points, seven steals and four rebounds for Ultimate Roofing.

Justin Hemsley, who will be a freshman with UH this season after using a redshirt last season, scored 12 points for Electricians Hawaii.

In the first game of the night, Lei Lei’s defeated Society Contracting, 67-61.

Mate Colina, the Australian big who joined the UH team in January and will be a freshman this season, scored 12 points for Lei Lei’s.

Micah Dunhour, a graduate of Academy of the Pacific who is now playing professional basketball in Finland, led Lei Lei’s with 31 points.

Sophomore point guard Drew Buggs is listed on the Society Contracting roster, but he was not at Monday’s game. Kaiser High graduate Chance Kalaugher led Society Contracting with 14 points.

Hawai’i head coach Eran Ganot said he gave his players the option of joining the HD League. Each of the six teams in the HD League has at least one UH player on the roster.

“I just wanted to play a little bit more,” Raimo said of his decision to play in the league. “We had open gyms, but it’s not enough for me, so I just wanted to play more and run, enjoy the game.”

The HD League will continue this week with games on July 3, 4, 5 and 7. More games will follow next week. CLICK HERE for more information.