honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Obama's still got game, ex-teammate says

By Wes Nakama

As he did during his August vacation here, President-elect Barack Obama met up with former Punahou School teammates yesterday morning for some pickup basketball at the campus' auxiliary gym.

"His game is still good," said Alan Lum, who played on Punahou's 1979 state championship team with Obama and played against him in yesterday's four pickup games (first team to 21 points wins). "He's a nice guy, he was so cordial, talking to everybody."

The group met at Punahou at 10 a.m., playing in the school's smaller gym rather than spacious Hemmeter Fieldhouse for security reasons.

On one team was Obama; a former teammate, Greg Orme; another Punahou schoolmate, Mike Ramos; and two members of Obama's traveling party. On the other team were former Punahou teammates Lum, Dan Hale, John Kamana, Larry Tavares and Rex Santos.

"We won the first two, and they won the next two," Lum said. "They were good games."

Lum, who had just returned from a family vacation at Disneyland, said he was afraid he had missed the chance to play basketball again with the next president. "Then I got the call saying, 'It's on,' " Lum said. "So I was like, all right!"

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.