Unlike most other years, it appears any of the 12 teams has a legitimate chance of winning it all, and none is safe from being eliminated.

In fact, one of the hottest teams of the 12 is Kailua, the Eastern Division's No. 6 seed. The Surfriders ended the regular season last Friday with a 59-45 victory over Roosevelt for their seventh straight win after an 0-4 start.

Just four weeks ago, the Surfriders were scratching their heads after a 48-45 loss to Farrington, their fourth straight loss.

"There were a lot of things going on," Kailua coach Tim Harrison said. "(6-foot-6 center) Kainoa LaCount missed one game while on a (football) recruiting trip, plus it was a tough schedule for us early on: at Kahuku, Kaimuki at home and then at Castle. I thought we played well against Farrington — they just shot the lights out against us — but the kids were really upset that we lost and from then on you could see a little more commitment from everybody."

The Surfriders' win streak began Jan. 18 with a 46-35 home victory over Kaiser, then they defeated McKinley on the road, 60-56, followed by home victories over Moanalua (60-52) and Thompson (67-30).

Then on Jan. 28, Kailua upset previously unbeaten Kalaheo on the road, 41-36. According to Harrison, who was a longtime assistant at Kalaheo, it was the Surfriders' first victory over the Mustangs in 23 years.

"Kainoa and Corey (Nemoto) have been on our team for four years, and when we lost to them by 12 last year, it was as close as they had gotten," said Harrison, who played on Kalaheo's 1976 team which won the first of the Mustangs' 16 OIA championships. "It was big for our program, and that was one of the reasons I came here (in 2000), to see if we could have two big basketball teams in Kailua."

The Surfriders kept it going with a 52-36 victory at Kalani, then finished with the home win over Roosevelt.

"We made a few changes after we were 0-4; the big one was moving Justin Pedro (from small forward to power forward)," Harrison said. "That gave us a little more quickness. We also became a better defensive team. But mainly, we have a lot of seniors and now they have the confidence. A lot of it is believing you can win, and once you get a taste of it, sometimes it keeps on going."

TIP-INS: Roosevelt was missing one starter against Kailua, but Chung said the Rough Riders (8-3) expect to be at full strength tomorrow against Leilehua (6-4). ... The first-round game between Kaimuki (8-3) and Mililani (5-5) pits teams that have qualified for each of the past three state tournaments. One of them will be eliminated tomorrow night. ... Kalaheo has qualified for each of the past 15 state tournaments.