Posted on: Friday, June 11, 2004
ISLE FILE
Ginger Rocha, wife of former UH coach, dies
Advertiser News Services
• She cared for husband's 1963-73 basketball teams: Ginger Rocha, the wife of former University of Hawai'i men's basketball coach Red Rocha, died of a heart attack on Tuesday at an Oregon hospital. She was 86.
Red Rocha was coach of the Rainbows from 1963-73, including the "Fabulous Five" teams of 1970-72.
"She was our team mom," said Bob Nash, a member of the Fabulous Five teams and now UH's associate coach. "She was a kind woman who really looked after us."
The Rochas, who have three daughters, have been living in Corvallis, Ore., in recent years.
A memorial service and private burial is scheduled for today in Oregon.
The Rocha family is asking that any contributions be donated to the St. Jude Children's Hospital. To make a donation in Ginger Rocha's name, call 1-800-873-6983.
CANOES
• Sailing canoe race begins tomorrow: Twelve teams from around the state are expected to compete in a Hawaiian Sailing Canoe Association race tomorrow.
The race will start at Hale O Lono, Moloka'i, and finish at Lanikai Beach. Finishers are expected in the early afternoon.
The race is for Hawaiian sailing canoes — traditional six-person canoes rigged with sails.
The HSCA will also hold a "Messages of Aloha" after the race at Lanikai Beach. People at the beach can sign banners which will be sent to the national guard units from Hawai'i in Iraq.
BOXING
• Hawai'i champions set for Junior Olympics: Ten Hawai'i State Junior Olympic Boxing Champions will compete in the 2004 U.S. Junior Olympic National Championships on June 17-27 at Brownsville, Texas.
The finalists and two at-large boxers will box-off at the Elite Training Camp on June 28-July 3 with winners earning a berth in the Pan-Am Junior Olympics in September and a dual match in Russia or Sweden.
Maui's Thomas Ordonez has been selected as an at-large boxer, and Bruce Kawano an elite camp coach for USA-Boxing.
The Hawai'i delegation consists of: Keola Mckee (95 pounds, Wailuku), Jefferson Bolibol (101 pounds, Waimanalo), Bruno Escalante Jr. (106 pounds, Waimanalo), Ordonez (110 pounds, Kihei), Cedric Benigno (114 pounds, Honolulu), Chazz Moleta (119 pounds, Kahului), Corey Dennison (125 pounds, Kapolei), Aaron Manuel Jr. (132 pounds, Waipahu), Vincent Delgado-Wells (138 pounds, Honolulu), Joel Bissen (154 pounds, Wailuku). Kawano, Jeff Mckee and Robert Benigno will serve as coaches. Kawano will also serve as the team manager.
