Pressure still on Rainbows in Classic
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
OK, so the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team avoided playing in the consolation bracket of the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic by beating Portland on Wednesday.
Pressure's off, right?
Not quite yet.
The Rainbow Warriors will play Iona in the semifinals of the eight-team tournament tonight at 7:30 p.m. A victory tonight would put UH in the championship game of the prestigious tournament for the third consecutive year.
"The only pressure is to win (tonight's) game," senior captain Mike McIntyre said. "But of course, playing in the championship would be a big thing. We know that if we win (tonight), there's going to be a big crowd at the championship game."
UH head coach Riley Wallace said the 'Bows will need a stronger effort tonight than the one they displayed against Portland.
Wallace described Iona as "very athletic and they get into you defensively. They can run and jump and they're playing now the way they're supposed to."
After opening the season with six consecutive losses, Iona has won three in a row, including a 71-59 victory over Holy Cross on Wednesday. Iona, which is from New Rochelle, N.Y., is the two-time defending Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference champion.
"They're a New York team, so you know they'll be athletic," McIntyre said. "They'll probably be looking to get some dunks on us."
For its part, Hawai'i has struggled with consistency all season. Against Portland, for example, the 'Bows allowed the Pilots to cut a 13-point second-half deficit down to four in the closing minutes.
"The most important thing we have to do is put two halves together," McIntyre said. "We just can't give teams the confidence to come back like that."
The 'Bows also are seeking individual consistency. Senior guard Predrag Savovic scored 24 points — the most by any UH player this season — against Portland. In his season debut the game before, he scored 12 on 2-of-13 shooting.
Sophomore guard Carl English scored a season-low five points on 2-of-11 shooting against Portland. Prior to Wednesday's game, he had scored at least 13 points in every game this season.
"It's frustrating because we know we can put it all together," English said. "Hopefully it will come soon."
As Wallace noted: "If we ever get Carl and Savo on the same night, it'll be fun to watch."
