It was, by his own account, the best birthday Vincent Lim has had yet.

Lim, who turned 18 yesterday, and teammate Rayfe Gaspar-Asaoka scored three goals apiece as 'Iolani defeated regular-season water polo champion Punahou, 8-5, last night to force a Wednesday showdown for ultimate Interscholastic League of Honolulu bragging rights.

"It was lose or go home and to win we had to stand up against Punahou in their home pool," Lim said. "We just did what we had to do."

The Raiders were aggressive on both ends of the pool, using constant motion and deft passing to generate offensive opportunities and attacking with a swarming help defense to limit Punahou's open looks.

Punahou won the regular-season title with a 7-0 record. 'Iolani (5-2) suffered both of its losses at the hands of the Buffanblu.

"It was a big win because it allowed us to keep our season going," said Raiders head coach Randy Bart. "Now it comes down to one single game and whoever is more prepared to play is going to win."

After a brief feeling-out period, Punahou got on the scoreboard first off a goal by Nick Schaefer. But Lim responded less than a minute later with a goal of his own to tie the score.

'Iolani ended the period with a flurry. With just over a minute to go, and with his would-be defender busy arguing a non-call, Gaspar-Asaoka sprinted ahead of the pack and received a perfect lob pass from goalie Austin Strong to score a one-on-one goal against Punahou's Jimmy Field.

With seven seconds left in the first, Lim scored again with a quick shot that Field barely missed deflecting.

The second quarter proceeded much the same way. Punahou scored on a penalty shot by Kai Golden, but 'Iolani responded immediately with a long shot by Chase Webber that just beat the shot clock.

With seven seconds again left on the clock, Andrew Atkinson scored to give the Raiders a 5-2 advantage heading into the half.

"We were just going through our normal offense," Bart said. "It was just good play in the water. They understand the offense and they took their opportunities. The difference tonight might have been that they were really pumped up."

Gaspar-Asaoka effectively sealed the game in the first minutes of the third quarter with two quick goals from point-blank range, punctuating each with an emphatic wave of his index finger.

"We noticed that they were dropping off the top and helping in the middle, so we kept moving until we could see an opening," Gaspar-Asaoka said.

"They're awesome at getting you to play their game," he said. "Tonight we were able to stick to our game."

Punahou cut the lead to 7-4 off goals by Nainoa Watson and Brett Carter toward the end of the quarter but couldn't generate enough offense down the stretch to overcome the solid 'Iolani defense and a stellar performance by Strong in the net.

Lim scored the Raiders' final point and 'Iolani slowed the pace to seal the win. Punahou's Golden scored just before the end of the match for the final margin.

"Austin gets up for big games and our whole defense played well," Bart said. "Any time you can hold Punahou — in intermediate, Varsity II or Varsity I — you're playing great defense."

While disappointed, Punahou coach Ken Smith said he wasn't surprised at the outcome.

"'Iolani was aggressive," he said. "They had their backs against the wall and to their credit, they really went for it. The thing about them is you can't relax. They'll have a lull and then they'll come storming back at you.