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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Tuesday, May 13, 2003

Furtado criticizes championship pairings

By Dennis Anderson
Advertiser Staff Writer

Kalaheo High basketball coach Chico Furtado yesterday criticized the pairings for the state girls basketball championships that start today at Stan Sheriff Center, although Kalaheo did not qualify for the tournament for the first time since 1996.

Furtado charged that the Hawai'i High School Athletic Association protects the Interscholastic League of Honolulu champions with its pairings. ILH teams have won 22 of 26 girls state championships.

Keith Amemiya, who has headed the HHSAA since 1998, denied the accusation.

Furtado, who next school year will coach both the Kalaheo boys and girls teams, said that, "For the past six years of the girls tournament, and for 14 straight years for boys, I have watched how this is put together. Year in and year out, the OIA (O'ahu public schools) in both boys and girls basketball get poor pairings in the state tournament," Furtado said.

"How can the OIA and ILH third-place teams (Kahuku and Maryknoll) be in the same bracket," Furtado said, "when the OIA fourth-place team (McKinley) and the Kaua'i champion (unseeded Waimea) are in the same bracket with (ILH champion) Punahou.

"For Punahou to win, it needs to beat three teams that were never ranked most of the season. Kamehameha, Moanalua, Kahuku and Konawaena, who are all in the other bracket, have been consistently in the top seven in the state all season in the Hawai'i Sports Network weekly coaches' polls."

"Punahou should have been forced to play Kahuku in a quarterfinal game," he said.

"It's a power thing on bottom side and a favorable draw for Punahou on the upper side," Furtado charged.

Amemiya answered, "The five leagues dictate the guidelines that the HHSAA must follow in determining the pairings and seedings for each tournament. Many times, these guidelines tie the hands of the Selection Committee, leaving them with little or no discretion.

"We welcome any suggestions as to how to improve the selection process, but ultimately it's up to the five leagues to decide if they want to change the current process."

ILH runner-up Kamehameha and OIA third-place finisher Kahuku meet in today's feature game at 7:30 p.m. in what Furtado calls "a brutal first-round game. One of possible final-four teams will be eliminated because they (HHSAA) want to protect Punahou."

"This is not right."

Amemiya responded, "As for protecting the ILH champion, many ILH teams from past tournaments will likely take strong exception to that notion, and in fact probably feel otherwise in most years.

"In the end, any process you come up with results in a certain amount of subjectivity, which is bound to create differences of opinion."