. When Jamm Aquino shot the photo of Star-Bulletin Girls Basketball Player of the Year Maiki Viela, she had no idea — and neither did we — if she would get the honor. The photo was taken the night Lahainaluna won its first state championship, and with the Lady Lunas set to return home early the next day, we played it safe and got posed shots of potential POYs, including Viela. So, when we reached her on Saturday night to […]
By Paul Honda It’s been quite a week for prep basketball fans. Talk about intensity levels! After the girls state championships — kudos to Lahainaluna and Kaimuki for such clutch performance — the boys gave us some fantastic pace. Moanalua and Mililani provided a statewide TV audience with the most pinball-type action in the first half of their game, a combined 88 points. Then last night, Punahou kept its food on the pedal from start to finish in a 65-59 […]
By Paul Honda They were a sea of red, just Lahainaluna loyalists clamoring for new heights, night after night. The hunger of the West Maui community for a noble champion was immense. The Lady Lunas of Lahainaluna obliged on Friday night. A breathtaking 47-45 come-from-behind win over defending champion Konawaena put Lahainaluna in the record books. The first-ever girls basketball state crown for Lahainaluna — and the Division I programs of the Maui Interscholastic League — was a long time […]
Lahainaluna and Kaimuki won state championships in girls basketball on Friday night, and the Star-Bulletin’s Jamm Aquino was there with his camera for every minute of the action. . [showtime]
He doesn’t have to acknowledge anything or anyone, and neither does his team. Yet, Todd Rickard does so. When he coached Lahainaluna girls basketball years ago, along with the Menehune hoops program in the community, it was a simple process that involved day-to-day workouts. It was all about commitment, the kind that lacked in so many communities then, and even now. After all, there are plenty of bright minds who have a heart for the game of basketball. But committing […]
By Paul Honda Coach Eddie Maruyama put it simply. The ‘Iolani Raiders played as one team, he said, just as the athletic program’s mantra dictates. But there was more to the Raiders’ stunning 63-58 overtime win over fourth-seeded Farrington last night in the quarterfinal round of the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships. It was the kind of effort — all around — that normally would have close observers thinking, “This game should be on TV.” Well, it was, and […]
By Paul Honda One quarter into the Waiakea-Moanalua game, it was clear enough. These aren’t the 1990s Waiakea Warriors, walking the ball upcourt, operating methodically efficient sets. Since Grant Kauhi took the helm some years back, the Warriors have morphed into a run-and-gun squad. It was expected; Kauhi and his assistant, brother Jason Kauhi, were prominent gunners back in the ’90s while playing at Hilo for the late Larry Manliguis. The Warriors raced up and down the floor early, then […]
By Paul Honda Some post-game notes from last night’s opening-round Roosevelt-Mililani game at Radford in the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships. The Rough Riders, runners-up from the Oahu Interscholastic Association, won 62-49 and will play second-seeded Lahainaluna tonight at Radford. • Mililani tried to attack Roosevelt’s primary weapons, particularly Mikela Thoemmes, but had limited success. Thoemmes wisely avoided picking up cheap fouls despite active Mililani posts like Darcey Goulsby and Pomai Grube-Hose. “Fundamentally, Roosevelt is very sound, but they’re […]