Flying in for rebounds and layups, crashing to the floor after taking a charge or chasing loose balls, and generally playing most of the game at constant warp speed, 'Iolani junior Pablo Warner always looks at night's end as if he just finished a triathlon or 15 rounds of a boxing match.

But Raiders coach Mark Mugiishi has his own way to describe Warner:

"Pablo's a winner," Mugiishi said.

'Iolani did not win any games against three top Mainland opponents in its own Prep Classic last week, but the Raiders did become the first American boys basketball team to play and defeat a team from China on U.S. soil. And Warner made his mark in all four games, averaging 14.8 points and being selected to the All-Tournament team.

Warner, a slender 6-foot-1 forward, scored 16 points Tuesday to help 'Iolani defeat Ji Lin, 71-57. It was believed to be the first time a high school team from China played a game in the United States.

Warner scored eight points in a 72-40 loss to Rice (New York), which was ranked No. 10 in USA Today's Super 25.

Then on Friday, Warner scored 25 points in a 67-55 loss to No. 15-ranked Mount Vernon (New York). That included 14 points in the third period, on a reverse layup in traffic, two three-point plays (after soaring layups) and two 3-pointers.

Mugiishi said a sign of respect pointed out by Raiders assistant coach Adam Wong was that toward the end of the game, the Knights tried to take charges against Warner instead of trying to stop him on the dribble drive.

"You don't see that too often (with the top Mainland teams)," Mugiishi said. "Usually they'll just try to stop you or try to block your shot, but they couldn't do that against Pablo."

Warner then finished the tournament with a 10-point effort in a 55-41 loss to Mason County (Maysville, Ky.), the preseason No. 1-ranked team in Kentucky. Six of those points came in the second half, after he suffered a charley horse injury just before intermission.

"That hurt us," Mugiishi said of the injury. "He could play, but he couldn't fly down the floor like he normally does and he couldn't jump as well."

Despite the losses, Warner said he and the Raiders learned a lot by playing against some of the best competition in the country.

"We definitely learned how to execute better, execute our motion offense," Warner said. "A lot of those guys are bigger and stronger than us, so you really have to go in there and fight for rebounds and try to make all your shots."

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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