For openers, how does state's No. 3 against No. 7 sound?

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

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Boys Basketball Championship WHAT: Hawaiian Airlines Boys Basketball Championship WHEN: Today-Saturday WHERE: Blaisdell Arena TICKETS: $7 adults, $5 students (kindergarten through 12th). Blaisdell Arena adds a 50-cent surcharge for each ticket. PARKING: $3 TV: Saturday's championship game, 8 p.m., OC-16 SCHEDULE: Page D5 TODAY Game 1 — Leilehua (11-2) vs. Waimea (8-0), 2:15 p.m. Game 2 — Waiakea (9-4) vs. Kamehameha (12-4), 4 p.m. Game 3 — Baldwin (10-4) vs. Mililani (9-5), 5:45 p.m. Game 4 — Saint Louis (11-3) vs. Kaimuki (11-2), 7:30 p.m. TOMORROW Game 5 — Losers of Games 2 & 3, 12:30 p.m. Game 6 — No. 3 Kea'au (13-0) vs. Winner of Game 4, 2:15 p.m. Game 7 — No. 2 Maui (14-0) vs. Winner of Game 1, 4 p.m. Game 8 — No. 1 Iolani (14-0) vs. Winner of Game 3, 5:45 p.m. Game 9 — No. 4 Kalaheo (11-3) vs. Winner of Game 2, 7:30 p.m. FRIDAY Game 10 — Losers of Games 1 & 4, 1:45 p.m. Game 11 — Losers of Games 8 & 9, 3:30 p.m. Game 12 — Losers of Games 6 & 7, 5:15 p.m. Game 13 — Winners of Games 6 & 7, 7 p.m. Game 14 — Winners of Games 8 & 9, 8:30 p.m. SATURDAY Game 15 — Winners of Games 5 & 10, 3 p.m. Game 16 — Winners of Games 11 & 12, 4:30 p.m. Game 17 — Losers of Games 13 & 14, 6 p.m. Game 18 — Winners of Games 13 & 14, 8 p.m.

No. 3-ranked Saint Louis (11-3) will play No. 7 Kaimuki (11-2) at 7:30 in a Hawaiian Airlines State Boys Basketball Championship first-round matchup probably more suited for a semifinal two nights later.

For much of the season, Saint Louis and Kaimuki were ranked in the top four of The Advertiser's statewide Top 10 poll of coaches and media. Saint Louis finished second in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, and Kaimuki was third in the 22-team O'ahu Interscholastic Association.

Two of the Crusaders' three defeats came to ILH champion and No. 1 seed Iolani, including a 54-47 overtime loss at Iolani.

Their other defeat was an upset at the hands of Damien.

The Bulldogs' two losses were a 51-49 overtime defeat at OIA Eastern Division champion Roosevelt and a 41-40 heartbreaker to OIA champion Kalaheo, which won on a 3-point basket at the buzzer by Zane Cabral.

"I think we drew one of the top teams in the state," Crusaders coach Delbert Tengan said. "They are playing really well together, and they have a good inside-outside game. They all can shoot the 3, so our big guys will have to come out and guard them. They do a real good job on offense and picking up rebounds off the glass."

Of particular concern for Saint Louis is Kaimuki's talented tandem of senior forward Daniel Tautofi and junior wing Jimmy Miyasaka.

"Tautofi has the total package — he can handle the ball, he has inside power, he can put them in from the perimeter," Tengan said. "I watched him score 37 against Moanalua, and it was a quiet 37. He just does his thing. And Jimmy, he's deadly shooting the ball, and you have to keep him off the glass, too."

The Crusaders defeated the Bulldogs in the preseason, but Tengan said both teams have since changed dramatically.

"We had a good day then, but both teams have come a far, far way," Tengan said. "I think they're a final four team, and they proved it last year by taking third with basically the same guys. They have tournament experience, and they're playing well. For us, we're coming off an 11-day layoff, so we'll have to see how that affects us."

The break might have been a welcome one for Saint Louis, a team mostly made up of football players who started basketball practice immediately after putting away the shoulder pads on Dec. 9.

The Crusaders have the size to match up with the Bulldogs, and their defensive pressure could cause problems for a Kaimuki team that has had trouble taking care of the ball in crucial moments. Saint Louis' physical play also could lure Tautofi into foul trouble, another big concern for the Bulldogs.

In the loss to Roosevelt, Tautofi sat out the final four minutes of the first half with three fouls and picked up his fourth with two minutes remaining in the third period.

The Crusaders' front line of 6-foot-3 Desmond Hanohano, 6-3 Wilson Afoa and 6-foot Timo Paepule is strong and athletic. Hanohano might have been the ILH's most improved player from the beginning of the season.

"He's been a pleasant development," Tengan said.

A less pleasant development, at least for Saint Louis and Kaimuki, is the way the brackets fell. With the Hawai'i High School Athletic Association's seeding committee using certain guidelines to fill out the brackets, HHSAA executive director Keith Amemiya said only a few options were left in placing the Crusaders and Bulldogs.

One guideline is league champions and their runners-up are put in opposite brackets, which meant Saint Louis could only be in the bottom bracket. Another guideline is to not have teams from the same league playing each other on the first day, which meant Kaimuki could not play OIA runner-up Leilehua or fourth-place Mililani.

One of the only other options was to have Kaimuki play Baldwin and have Mililani play Saint Louis, but that would have meant a possible quarterfinal matchup between Kaimuki and Iolani. So either there would be an unusually tough opening game for the ILH champion or ILH runner-up, and the seeding committee chose the runner-up.

Tengan said while the matchup is tough for his team, "it should be great for the fans." He added that other opponents might not have been much easier.

"When you get to this tournaments, there are no cupcakes," Tengan said. "If you want cupcakes, go to the bakery."

Missing leader: Mililani's leading scorer, senior wing Simeon Tavares, will not play in the tournament. Tavares was removed from the team by principal Robert Ginlack for a disciplinary reason.

Sweet 16: Iolani junior Derrick Low is 16 years old. A different age was listed in yesterday's tournament preview.