Jeeter Ishida scored three goals as Punahou used a second-half surge to power past 'Iolani, 8-3, last night at 'Iolani Pool.

The Raiders were led by Rayfe Gaspar-Asaoka, who scored all three of 'Iolani's goals.

Punahou improved to 3-0 in Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I. 'Iolani dropped to 2-1.

Sticking to their modus operandi of physically dominating their opponents in the pool, the Buffanblu took charge with three goals in the third quarter.

" 'Iolani is a great team and we can't take anybody lightly," Ishida said. "It was a battle but they started to wear down. It's our philosophy to try and be really physical and go after them really hard until they get tired. Then we try to capitalize on our opportunities."

The Raiders looked up for the challenge of battling the bigger, stronger Punahou squad in the first half, controlling the time of possession and repeatedly creating scoring opportunities that too often they were unable to capitalize upon.

Ishida opened the scoring with an outside shot with 3:42 left in the first quarter and Punahou added another score a minute later.

But the Raiders answered back behind Gaspar-Asaoka, who scored from just in front of the goal off.

Punahou's Jack Roney responded with a goal of his own to make it 3-1.

'Iolani's aggressive defense held Punahou scoreless in the second quarter as Gaspar-Asaoka again narrowed the lead with a shot from the left side that singed the upper right corner.

Gaspar-Asaoka tied the game at 3-all a minute into the third quarter with a shot that skimmed the water twice before just eluding goaltender Spencer Dung.

Punahou scored three times to close out the period, then twice more in the fourth to seal the game.

"They're more experienced and their bigger," said Raiders head coach Randy Bart. "We were basically trying to do the best we could. We had our opportunities (to score) but we just couldn't get it in."

Ishida said 'Iolani's tactic of clogging the front of the goal opened up opportunities for outside shots, which he and his teammates were all too happy to take.

"We've been working in practice on trying to create movement," Ishida said. "They were playing off of us, so that gave us better opportunities for outside shots."

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.