Those runner-up medals Nainoa Calip graciously accepted since high school made Saturday’s Manoa Cup awards presentation all the more rewarding.

Calip had become pretty familiar with second place since winning the 2010 Big Island Interscholastic Federation title as a senior at Kamehameha-Hawaii. He lost a playoff for the state championship that spring before embarking on his college career at the University of Hawaii, which ended with another second-place finish at the Big West Championship in May.

He guaranteed himself a top-two finish in his first Manoa Cup by winning five matches in four days this week. This time, he was the one to savor a win.

"I don’t regret anything from those seconds," Calip said. "It just feels good to not be second and come out on top this time."

Calip won the 106th Manoa Cup on Saturday, closing a six-day grind with a 6-and-5 victory over Isaac Jaffurs in Saturday’s 36-hole final at Oahu Country Club.

"I’m really proud of the way I played today," Calip said. "I managed to keep my cool. He had gotten some strokes on me in the third nine (holes) and I stuck to my game."

Calip birdied four of his first seven holes and never trailed in the final of the state amateur match-play championship. He was 3 up after the first 18 holes and pushed the lead to 5 up with a chip-in eagle on OCC’s par-5 second hole and a birdie on the fifth.

Jaffurs, a Kahuku graduate and former UH Hilo golfer, threatened a comeback by winning the next two holes. But Calip reclaimed the momentum after going into a greenside bunker on the par-3 ninth.

His blast out of the sand rolled to within a foot of the cup to save par while Jaffurs bogeyed. Calip then drilled his drive on No. 10 to about 35 feet from the hole and a two-putt birdie stretched the lead back to 5 up.

"That bunker shot really put confidence back in my game," Calip said.

Calip’s wedge play proved critical earlier in the round, including a key up-and-down on his 19th hole and the eagle on the next.

"From then on, I really calmed down and I realized my short game would get me out of trouble," Calip said. "I don’t have to protect the lead, rather I could just play golf and keep applying pressure on him."

Calip made up for a bogey by curling in a birdie putt on No. 12. The match ended on the 13th. Jaffurs conceded the hole following an adventurous journey up the slope that included taking a penalty after his third shot got stuck in a tree.

"He definitely deserved it. He was on today," Jaffurs said. "I just couldn’t make enough birdies. I kind of survived this week by just making pars.

" In the championship you have to make birdies, especially to win. … He had an answer for every push I made."

Before taking the customary plunge into the OCC pool, Calip was presented the winner’s green jacket by last year’s champion and former UH teammate Jared Sawada.

"I had a few runner-ups this past season in college and it means a lot to finally get that No. 1 spot," said Calip, an honorable mention All-Big West selection this season. "I’ve put a lot of work into my game and it showed today."

For Jaffurs — who gravitated toward golf and surfing growing up in Kahuku — the runner-up finish was the 26-year-old’s best showing since first entering the tournament in high school. It could be a performance to build upon.

"It’s a huge confidence builder," Jaffurs said. "This is our favorite tournament of the year and there’s so much tradition that goes into it. It’s a great course. … To make it that far is a bonus for me."