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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, June 19, 2008

Two Hawaii teams will showcase talent

By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

Two Hawai'i teams will be competing in showcase tournaments this week and next.

ABD Hawaii will play in the 16-under USA Baseball Championships West starting tomorrow in Arizona. The team was scheduled to work out today at Arizona State and will participate in a combine in which the players will be timed and tested in skills. The combine also serves as an audition for the U.S. National Team, according to ABD director Mike Spiers. There also is a tournament in Florida for teams in the East.

The team will play games beginning Saturday through June 28 at the Peoria and Surprise sports complexes in Arizona. There are 72 teams in the tournament. Some 25 to 30 college coaches will be scouting the tournament, Spiers said.

The Hawai'i team will be coached by Paul Tamashiro and Bill Davis. Kaha Wong was scheduled to coach, too, but he was not able to attend because he is involved in the negotiations for his son, Kolten Wong, who was a 16th-round draft pick by the Minnesota Twins.

A majority of the ABD Hawaii players will be juniors or sophomores. There are three players from California schools who are in ABD programs in that state to help round out the Hawai'i roster. Some players on the Hawai'i team were members of the 2005 'Ewa Beach Little League Majors World Series championship team.

Meanwhile, the Hawaii 808 Dragons will leave Sunday to play in the 20th Sierra Nevada Classic Josh Anderson Memorial set for June 24 to 29 at Peccole Park in Reno, Nev., the same site the Nevada Wolf Pack plays their home games. The stadium has FieldTurf.

Former Mililani High coach Dean Sato is coaching the squad, made up mostly of players who will be seniors in the fall. He will be assisted by Kamehameha coach Vern Ramie and Joe Queja.

Other teams in the tournament come from California, Washington, Oklahoma and Nevada. The eight-team tournament serves as a showcase for pro and college scouts, Sato said.

"The kids we're taking have to have (good) grades and good SATs (scores)," Sato said. "And they have to have some (baseball) skill."

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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