Tough challenges await Iolani, Kalaheo in state boys basketball
• Bracket guidelines place Mustangs in familiar scenario
• Hawaiian Airlines Boys State Basketball Championships
By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| Kalaheo's Ikaika Alama-Francis has been tenacious inside and deadly accurate outside.
Eugene Tanner The Honolulu Advertiser |
That still might be true, but teams such as Mililani, Lahainaluna, Waiakea and Punahou may be holding up stop signs along the way.
What appeared to some as a two-team race just six weeks ago now has several entries that could prove to be more than long shots.
Here is a closer look at the top contenders in this week's Hawaiian Airlines Championship Tournament:
Iolani (12-0): The No. 1 seed Raiders have had few serious challenges since defeating three established Mainland teams in their own tournament in December.
Iolani's only loss in that tournament was a 61-59 heartbreaker to Fairfax (Los Angeles), a team that recently defeated USA Today's No. 1-ranked team at the time, Westchester. Fairfax is ranked No. 20 in USA Today's latest rankings.
In the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, Iolani's closest game was a 51-43 victory over St. Louis.
The Raiders have three potent offensive weapons in point guard Derrick Low (15.6 points per game), shooting guard Bobby Webster (12.6 ppg) and swingman Bobby Nash (12.6 ppg). Forward Jon Grobe (7.6 ppg) scored in double figures in his past three games, and 6-foot-5 center Tyler McCready (6 ppg) had 14 points in the regular-season finale.
The only thing that has stopped Iolani from winning since December is the ILH schedule, which left the Raiders idle since Feb. 7.
Kalaheo (13-0): The Mustangs feature the state's most prolific scoring duo in senior wings Ikaika Alama-Francis (19.8 ppg) and DC Daniels (16.9 ppg).
Alama-Francis was particularly impressive in last Friday's O'ahu Interscholastic Association championship game, scoring 25 points and grabbing 19 rebounds to lead Kalaheo to a 61-57 victory over Mililani. His monster follow-up dunk with 47 seconds remaining gave the Mustangs a 59-57 lead.
Mililani (12-1): Having already taken Kalaheo to the limit, the Trojans proved they are state title contenders.
The Trojans (12-1) feature perhaps Hawai'i's most exciting player in Rashaun Broadus, a 5-11 senior guard who signed a letter of intent to play for Western Washington next season. Broadus (17.7 ppg) is nearly unstoppable off the dribble and in the open floor, and he also is a threat shooting from beyond the arc.
Forward Kaipo Patoc (10.6 ppg) is a physical presence in the post, and Simeon Tavares (8.2 ppg) can be an explosive scorer off the bench.
One key for Mililani is the health of senior forward Trey Brown, who is still nursing a sprained ankle. The 6-foot-5 Brown (9.1 ppg) is a reliable rebounder and mid-range shooter, but he missed three straight games with the injury before returning in the OIA title game.
Lahainaluna (13-1): The No. 3 seed Lunas have one of the state's top point guards in Cheyne De La Garza, a transfer from Maui who was the Maui Interscholastic League Player of the Year in 2001.
Center Ricky Murta, a 6-6 senior who also transferred from Maui, and brothers Ma'afu Finau (6-3) and Tevita Finau (6-4) give Lahainaluna a strong inside presence.
"They might be even bigger than we are," Iolani coach Mark Mugiishi said. "That's a scary team."
The Lunas' only MIL loss was to Baldwin on Feb. 8, after Lahainaluna had already clinched the regular-season championship.
Waiakea (11-3): The No. 4 seed Warriors took Kalaheo into two overtimes before losing 71-66 in the semifinals of the Big Island Candies preseason tournament in Hilo.
Waiakea's top player is 5-10 senior guard Branden Kawazoe, who scored 27 points against Kalaheo.
"He can shoot, and he shoots it from deep," Mustangs coach Pete Smith said. "You need to get on him as soon as he crosses halfcourt."
The Warriors' front court is led by 6-2 junior Levi Bartholomew.
Like every other Big Island Interscholastic Federation team this season, the Warriors were victims of upsets. They lost to Kea'au, Konawaena and Kealakehe. But they also beat arch rival Hilo twice and exacted revenge on Kealakehe in the BIIF championship game.
"Whenever they had a big game they needed to win, they seemed to find a way to dig down and do it," Mugiishi said.
Punahou (9-3): The Buffanblu have experience in the backcourt and size in the front court.
Senior point guard Kynan Pang (8.3 ppg) is a strong floor leader and dependable shooter.
"We put so much responsibility on Kynan, but we really feel comfortable in his hands," Punahou coach Greg Tacon said.
Senior center Dane Uperesa, at 6-5 and 300 pounds, gives the Buffanblu a strong presence and soft shooting touch inside (10 ppg).
• • •
Bracket guidelines place Mustangs in familiar scenario
Advertiser Staff
The Kalaheo High boys basketball team is in the same bracket at this week's state tournament as it was last year, even though the Mustangs were the No. 1 seed in 2001 and No. 2 this time around.
The Interscholastic League of Honolulu's runner-up and third-place teams are also in the same brackets as last year.
Last year, the Mustangs defeated Punahou, St. Louis and Iolani to win the championship. This week, Kalaheo could face Kamehameha in the quarterfinals, Punahou in the semifinals and Iolani in the final.
Hawai'i High School Athletic Association executive director Keith Amemiya said the seeding committee is bound by certain guidelines determined at the state athletic directors' conference in the summer. One of those stipulations is that league champions and runners-up are placed in opposite brackets.
"After all the guidelines are followed, there are limited options as far as the rest of the pairings," Amemiya said. "The HHSAA didn't come up with the guidelines, so if people want things changed, they need to lobby the member schools."
Home schooling: The quarterfinals are being played at school sites for financial reasons, Ame-miya said.
"It's more prudent, especially because of the downturn in the economy after Sept. 11," Amemiya said.
Giant killer: Kealakehe needed a few Big Island Interscholastic Federation upsets to gain its state berth.
But upsets are the specialty of Waveriders assistant coach Merv Lopes, who led Chaminade University to several shockers in the 1980s.
• • •
Tomorrow
At Radford High School gym
- Game 1: 6 p.m. Kealakehe vs. Kamehameha
- Game 2: 7:30 p.m. Punahou vs. Kaimuki
At Kekuhaupi'o Gymnasium, Kamehameha Schools
- Game 3: 6 p.m. Baldwin vs. Castle
- Game 4: 7:30 p.m. Mililani vs. Waimea
Thursday
At Radford
- Game 5: 6 p.m. Lahainaluna vs. Winner Game 2
- Game 6: 7:30 p.m. Kalaheo vs. Winner Game 1
At Kekuhaupi'o Gymnasium
- Game 7: 6 p.m. Waiakea vs. Winner Game 4
- Game 8: 7:30 p.m. Iolani vs. Winner Game 3
Friday
At Blaisdell Arena
- Game 9: Noon, Losers of games 3 & 4
- Game 10: 1:45 p.m. Losers of games 1 & 2
- Game 11: 3:30 p.m. Losers of games 7 & 8
- Game 12: 5:15 p.m. Losers of games 5 & 6
- Game 13: 7:00 p.m. Winners of games 5 & 6
- Game 14: 8:30 p.m. Winners of games 7 & 8
Saturday
At Blaisdell Arena
- Game 15: 3 p.m. Winners of games 9 & 10
- Game 16: 4:30 p.m. Winners of games 11 & 12
- Game 17: 6 p.m. Losers of games 13 & 14
- Game 18: 8 p.m. Winners of games 13 & 14
Tickets: $7 adults; $5 students (K-12)
Note: Blaisdell Arena adds a 50-cent surcharge to every ticket sold.
Parking at the Neal Blaisdell Arena parking structure is $3.00
TV/Radio: KGMB (channel 9, cable 7) will broadcast the championship game live. KQNG (570) will cover all Kaua'i games; KHLO (850) and KIPA (620) will cover all Big Island games; KMVI (550) will cover all Maui games.
