Sports Update
Zone defense is the acne of college basketball. It changes the complexion of an offense, turning pretty shots into pretty ugly ones. ’Bows bounce back
Alika Smith returns to lead Hawaii
By Cindy Luis, Star-Bulletin
to a convincing win over Texas SouthernBut beauty is all in the eye of the beholder. And having Alika Smith back in the lineup for the University of Hawaii men's basketball team was a sight for sore eyes and sore egos.
The senior guard had what he considered an off-night shooting (5-for-13 from the field), finishing with 16 points in the Rainbows' 70-53 victory over winless Texas Southern in the opener of the Hawaii-Nike Festival. But that was 16 more than Smith had Sunday when he was sidelined with a sprained right toe and Hawaii was tripped up by Arkansas State for its first loss, 86-82.
"It definitely was good to have Alika back," said Anthony "AC" Carter, who had game highs of 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. "When the other team has to worry about him shooting, it opens it up for me and everyone else."
And that has Santa Clara worried. The Broncos advanced to tonight's 7:37 title game with the Rainbows after handing Houston its first loss of the season, 82-61, in last night's second game.
"It's going to be a big test," Broncos assistant coach Steve Seandel said. "We're pretty athletic in the backcourt, but we're going to have a tough time if we don't limit what Carter is doing in the open court. He's really good, and so creative.
"And if Smith's healthy . . . I don't think we've seen two guards as good as they are this season. And we played Kansas."
The Broncos lost to the Jayhawks, 99-73, in the season opener. They've allowed just one team -- UC Santa Barbara -- to score more than 60 points since, beating the Gauchos, 88-73.
Hawaii (6-1) and Santa Clara (7-1) should match up well against each other. Both can run and play defense.
The Rainbows surprised Texas Southern with a zone defense, forcing the Tigers' long-range shooters outside their comfort zone. Texas Southern, 1-for-13 in 3-point attempts in the first half, didn't start hitting until the game was out of reach.
"They surprised us with the zone. We thought they were pretty much a man-to-man team," said TSU coach Robert Moreland. "You have to be prepared for all things and we weren't prepared.
"I think Hawaii and Santa Clara should be a real good game. They're similar in style and both play a good team game. And Smith is an outstanding basketball player. I can see why they might not be the same team without him."
With Smith starting last night, Hawaii jumped to an 18-6 lead. With Smith out for 312 minutes, TSU went on a 7-0 run, helped by four Rainbow turnovers and 0-for-5 shooting.
Smith returned with 9:34 remaining in the first half and Hawaii responded with a 12-3 spurt over the next six minutes to regain control.
The closest the Tigers would come was 47-38 midway through the second half, but Smith, Carter and Eric Ambrozich scored all the UH points in a 14-6 run to put the game out of reach.
Ambrozich, who scored eight points in the opening minutes, finished with 12. Casey Cartwright came off the bench to add 10.
For TSU, Randy Bolden -- held to one 3-pointer in the first half -- hit three in the second half en route to a team-high 16 points. Ifey Anyanwu added 15, shooting 60 percent from the field.
"We didn't play very pretty," Smith said. "But like coach (Riley Wallace) says, good teams win pretty or ugly. It doesn't matter.
"I just wanted to be out there and help the team. At times it was very painful, but I knew I had to play through it."
Santa Clara 82, Houston 61: The Broncos opened the second half with seven consecutive 3-pointers in handing the Cougars their first loss of the season.
Craig Johnson and Lloyd Pierce each scored 15 points to pace Santa Clara, which is off to its best start since the 1968-69 season. The Broncos (7-1) have won seven straight after dropping their season opener to No. 2 Kansas.
Santa Clara broke away from an 18-18 tie midway through the first half with a 22-7 run. Pierce had nine of his points during that span and Johnson five.
Houston pulled to within 13 twice early in the second half, but a 13-4 spurt gave Santa Clara an insurmountable lead. The Cougars (7-1) got no closer than 16 the rest of the way.
Chad Hendrick led Houston with 21 points.
At Special Events Arena Hawaii Nike Festival
Hawaii 70, Texas Southern 53
mp fgm fga ftm fta reb pf tp Bolden 32 5 16 2 3 3 4 16 Redmond 27 0 7 0 0 2 1 0 Evans 30 2 10 0 0 8 1 4 Anyanwu 34 6 10 3 4 6 4 15 Rhodes 21 1 5 0 1 6 2 2 Malone 15 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 Adams 14 1 5 1 2 1 1 3 Beechem 7 1 2 2 4 0 0 5 Dyse 10 3 5 0 1 2 2 6 Underwood 10 0 1 2 2 1 1 2 Team 2 Totals 200 19 62 10 17 32 18 53
mp fgm fga ftm fta reb pf tp M. Robinson 17 2 6 0 2 7 4 4 Kroeger 22 0 1 2 2 7 2 2 Smith 35 5 13 4 4 1 1 16 Carter 39 7 13 3 4 9 2 17 Ambrozich 24 4 8 4 4 4 3 12 Galloway 22 3 6 1 2 2 3 7 Hook 6 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Meyers 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cartwright 17 4 6 2 2 3 1 10 Penebacker 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hall 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Moeller 14 1 1 0 2 4 1 2 R. Robinson 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Team 4 Totals 200 26 54 16 22 42 17 703-point goals--Texas Southern 5-28 (Bolden 4-15, Beechem 1-2, Adams 0-1, Dyse 0-2, Redmond 0-2, Rhodes 0-2, Evans 0-4), UH 2-10 (Smith 2-7, Kroeger 0-1, Carter 0-2).Assists--Texas Southern 11 (Malone 3), UH 12 (Carter 7). Turnovers--Texas Southern 19 (Redmond, Rhodes 5), UH 21 (Kroeger 7). Steals--Texas Southern 10 (Redmond 3), UH 8 (Robinson 3). Blocked shots--Texas Southern 0, UH 1 (Cartwright 1). Technicals--Kroeger.
Officials: Sternberger, Staffen, Lewis.
Houston: Robinson 5-8 5-6 15, Younger 3-5 0-4 6, Crosby 2-7 1-2 7, Hendrick 8-13 0-0 21, McBride 4-9 0-0 10, Fordjour 0-1 0-0 0, Fernandez 0-1 0-0 0, Moore 0-2 2-2 2, Austin 0-3 0-0 0. Totals: 22-49 8-14 61
Santa Clara: Wuschnig 4-7 1-2 10, Lopez 1-3 0-0 2, Jones 4-13 2-2 13, Pierce 6-8 1-1 15, Johnson 5-11 3-4 15, D'Oyen 1-4 4-6 7, Fast 2-4 3-6 7, Gomes 0-2 0-0 0, Dely 0-1 3-4 3, Holmes 4-12 2-2 10. Totals: 27-65 19-27 82
Halftime--Santa Clara 40, Houston 25. 3-Point goals--Houston 9-18 (Hendrick 5-7, McBride 2-4, Crosby 2-6, Moore 0-1), Santa Clara 9-18 (Jones 3-6, Pierce 2-2, Johnson 2-5, Wuschnig 1-2, D'Oyen 1-2, Fast 0-1). Fouled out--None. Rebounds--Houston 33 (Robinson 8), Santa Clara 40 (Johnson 9). Assists--Houston 11 (McBride 6), Santa Clara 20 (Pierce 6). Total fouls--Houston 19, Santa Clara 16. A--8,392.
The University of Hawaii parlayed its best first half of the season into a 30-point victory over McNeese State yesterday -- despite a nine-minute span of ragged play in the second half. Wahine outgun Cowgirls
Hawaii's hot start too much for
By Al Chase, Star-Bulletin
cold-shooting McNeese StateThe Wahine (7-1) hit 59 percent (19-for-32) of their field goals in the first 20 minutes en route to an 81-51 victory over the Cowgirls (5-3) in the second game of the Ala Moana Hotel Paradise Classic at the Special Events Arena.
UH plays Michigan State -- an 80-74 comeback winner over UC Santa Barbara -- this afternoon in the round-robin tournament.
McNeese State went with a starting five that averaged under 6-feet, but was quick and scrappy and constantly crashed the boards, getting second and third shots at the offensive end.
"If we get the rebound, then it's an easy layin at the other end. It's give and take," UH head coach Vince Goo said.
But the Cowgirls' strategy was foiled by their inability to connect from the floor. They shot just 30 percent (11-for-37) in the first half and 27 percent (21-for-77) for the game. And playing catch-up became difficult as their 3-point shooting failed to materialize (2-for-22 for the game, 0-for-12 in the second half).
With the Wahine leading 8-4, three consecutive baskets off fast breaks and another on a putback gave them a 16-8 lead. Consecutive layups by Raylene Howard, Kylie Page and Nani Cockett midway through the opening period increased UH's advantage to 35-17.
The margin was 20 at halftime as Page and Liisa Kotilainen hit 3-pointers and Hedy Liu, in her first game of the season, made her first field goal attempt on a short jumper with 1:02 left to put the Wahine ahead, 49-26.
Tiffany Green's 3-pointer, the Cowgirls' last of the game, made it 49-29 at the half.
A layup by Howard and a free throw and Cockett's jumper with 19:08 left gave UH a quick second-half start and a 25-point lead.
But over the next nine minutes, McNeese State whittled the Wahine lead to 17.
"We were in a dry patch offensively. We had a mental lapse and couldn't get the offense together," said Page, who scored 23 points.
"We just weren't concentrating and turned the ball over," said Cockett, who scored 24 points and led UH with 10 rebounds. "Vince told me he wanted a lot more rebounding from me, offensively and defensively. That's one part of my game that's lacking and I just want to help my team move up from last in the WAC."
According to the latest Western Athletic Conference statistics, UH is last in rebounds per game (42.9). The Cowgirls outrebounded the Wahine, 47-46.
But Goo was pleased with UH's team effort (21 assists on 28 baskets).
"It shows we play well as a team, that players without the ball are making good cuts and the player with the ball is finding the open person," he said.
Maxann Reese scored all 11 of her points in the second half for MSU.
The Gauchos (5-3) used a tough defense and the scoring of Tawnee Cooper (14 points), Erin Buescher (11) and Stacy Clinesmith (10) to build their first-half lead. Buescher scored 17 points to lead UCSB.
Ala Moana Hotel Paradise Classic
At Special Events ArenaHawaii 81, McNeese State 51
mp fgm fga ftm fta reb pf tp Calligan 31 5 11 3 4 5 4 13 Mayo 25 2 13 0 0 2 1 5 Hill 21 1 5 1 2 4 1 3 Green 30 2 8 0 0 4 2 5 Davis 25 7 12 0 0 9 3 14 Hale 12 1 8 0 0 1 4 2 Abbitt 8 1 2 0 0 1 1 2 Scott 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Jeffrey 19 1 7 2 2 10 4 4 Strickland 13 0 6 0 0 1 3 0 Shipley 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Karasch 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 1 Headley 10 1 4 0 0 2 3 2 Team 8 Totals 200 21 77 7 10 47 26 51
mp fgm fga ftm fta reb pf tp Page 31 7 10 6 6 6 4 23 Ashby 32 1 4 1 2 6 1 3 Howard 31 6 10 5 5 9 1 18 Cockett 34 9 13 5 10 10 1 24 Itoman 30 2 7 0 0 0 0 4 Forsberg 10 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 Kotilainen 6 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 Lee 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 Petersen 6 0 3 2 2 3 0 2 Liu 4 1 2 0 0 2 2 2 Evers 6 0 0 0 7 1 1 0 Wautlet 7 1 2 0 0 2 1 2 Team 6 Totals 200 28 55 19 32 46 18 81Halftime score--Hawaii 49, McNeese State 29.3-point goals--McNeese State 2-22 (Green 1-4, Mayo 1-8, Calligan 0-1, Hill 0-1, Scott 0-1, Strickland 0-2, Hale 0-5), UH 6-14 (Kotilainen 1-1, Page 3-4, Howard 1-3, Cockett 1-3, Lee 0-1, Itoman 0-2).
Assists--McNeese State 13 (Mayo 4), UH 21 (Itoman 6, Page, Cockett 5). Turnovers--McNeese State 17 (Hill 4), UH 16 (Cockett 4). Steals--McNeese State 6 (Abbitt 2), UH 13 (Itoman 7). Blocked shots--McNeese State 2 (Hill, Scott), UH 4 (Cockett 3).
A--889. Officials: Fujimoto, Yamasaki, Tanibe.
Michigan State (5-3): Engen 5-6 3-4 13, Rasmussen 4-13 3-6 11, Dalgaard 8-14 3-5 20, Reese 5-12 0-3 11, Wesley 4-10 2-2 10, Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Pung 2-4 1-1 5, Cummings 0-0 7-10 7, Johnson 0-1 2-2 2, Winberg 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 28-60 22-35 80.
UC Santa Barbara (5-3): Rohr 6-8 2-2 14, Cooper 4-10 6-6 14, Greathouse 5-10 2-4 12, Clinesmith 4-14 4-4 15, Shadwell 0-7 0-0 0, Lampson 0-3 0-0 0, Buescher 8-15 1-1 17, Frial 1-2 0-0 2, Gardner 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-70 15-17 74.
Halftime--UC Santa Barbara 47, Michigan State 37
3-point goals--Michigan State 2-6 (Dalgaard 1-1, Reese 1-4, Wesley 0-1), UC Santa Barbara 3-13 (Clinesmith 3-5, Greathouse 0-1, Buescher 0-1, Lampson 0-2, Shadwell 0-4). Fouled out--Wesley, Greathouse. Rebounds--Michigan State 34 (Rasmussen 10), UC Santa Barbara 46 (Greathouse 17). Assists--Michigan State 16 (Wesley 5), UC Santa Barbara 14 (Shadwell 4). Steals--Michigan State 10 (Engen, Wesley 3), UC Santa Barbara 14 (Clinesmith, Buescher 4). Blocked shots--Michigan State 5 (Rasmussen 2), UC Santa Barbara 4 (Rohr, Cooper, Greathouse, Buescher). Turnovers--Michigan State 17 (Reese 4), UC Santa Barbara 20 (Greathouse 5). Total fouls--Michigan State 16, UC Santa Barbara 23. Technicals--None.
By Pat Bigold, Star-Bulletin Brawl mars tournament
Kamehameha-Miami Senior game was ugly from the start
Kamehameha junior Jordan Vanatta's one-handed shot sailed three-quarters the length of the court and into the basket as the buzzer sounded.
Final score: Miami Senior 82, Kamehameha 38.
But just as the "wows" began, a dam of tension that had been building from the opening minute of play burst into a free-for-all that covered half the Iolani gym floor.
It took three uniformed police officers and Iolani athletic officials to separate flailing players and coaches. When it was over, Puni Ellis, recently brought up from the Kamehameha junior varsity, was hustled away, bleeding from a punch in the mouth, reportedly delivered by Miami junior Daniel Dieudonne.
Witnesses said the two exchanged words before the blow.
It was not the first punch thrown in an Iolani Prep Classic quarterfinal game marred by 43 fouls, a player ejection, and a constant flow of trash-talk.
Fearing another outbreak if both teams were allowed to return to their locker rooms, police ordered Kamehameha's players to go directly to their bus.
The victory put nationally ranked Miami (USA Today No. 11, National Prep Poll No. 4) into tonight's semifinal at 8 against unranked Provo (Utah) High School.
Provo upset nationally ranked St. Joseph Notre Dame of Alameda, Calif. (USA Today No. 14, National Prep Poll No. 7) yesterday afternoon to advance.
The nation's No. 1 team in all major polls, St. John's at Prospect Hall (Frederickton, Md.) will face Fairfax (Los Angeles) at 6:30 p.m. in the other semifinal.
"My kid was headed to the locker room when their kid (Ellis) chased him to the door, they tangled and what happened there, I don't know," Miami Senior head coach Frank Martin said. "If he (Ellis) got hit, then that's tough luck."
Martin, visibly angry, said Kamehameha instigated every incident.
"The very first shot we took, Javorie Wilson got punched in the back of the head," Martin said. "That set the tone. I'll tell you something -- they got called for 10 intentional fouls. We didn't get called for any. If that doesn't tell you and everyone else who started everything -- hey, you don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure that one out."
Kamehameha head coach Jim Winchester said he didn't see what precipitated the outbreak. But he said he thought his players were provoked during the game.
"There was an intimidation factor there," he said. "If our kids are going to get talked to, they're going to play even harder, and I don't really think you can stop that. It can be a difficult game to keep under control from an emotional standpoint. I think everybody out there wants to prove he's not going to back down."
During a first quarter in which Miami outscored the Warriors, 26-6, 5-10 senior Imai Winchester, son of the coach, battled to the foot of the bleachers for a loose ball with 6-10 Sylbrin Robinson. Before they arose, Robinson appeared to elbow Winchester in the chest.
In the third quarter, Kamehameha's 5-10 Jacob Ordenstein, a two-time all-state running back, and Miami's 6-8 Antonio Lattimer battled for position on an in-bounds play when Lattimer threw a punch that hit Ordenstein on the cheek. Ordenstein retaliated, glancing a blow off Lattimer's neck.
Ordenstein was whistled and ejected.
Martin said Leilehua, which Miami routed, 85-29, Wednesday, "played their rear ends off. But this team came to fight.
"They're lucky we're not fighting because they wouldn't win that one either."
Asked if action would be taken against either team, Iolani Classic director Eddie Hamada said it was too early to tell.
"As far as I'm concerned, we'll go back and sit down with the tournament committee after Monday and evaluate it," he said.
But Iolani's Anderson twins -- Brad and Cord -- combined for 14 first-half points to keep the Raiders within five at intermission, 25-30.
The Pilots led most of the game, and entered the fourth quarter with a 41-37 advantage.
Ramsey Williams led the Menehunes with 16 points.
Prep preseason
At Iolani Gym
Yesterday's results
Okinawa 65, Kaiser 41
Canyon 63, Mililani 49
St. Bernard 50, Leilehua 39
St. Louis 55, Lathrop 49
Provo 47, St. Joseph 46
Miami 82, Kamehameha 38
St. Johns 54, Iolani 36
Fairfax 56, Moanalua 41
Leading scorers-Oki: Alfred Higashionna 12. Kai: Kauna 'Oa McGee 18. Can: Andy Goulden 19. Mil: Kenji Price 16. SB: Lamar Leslie 17. Lei: Justin Daniels 18, David Cooper 12. StL: Matt Vivas 14. Lath: Mackey Sele 13. Pro: Eric Jackson 21. StJs: Blanden Ferguson 14. Mia: Antonio Latimer 13. StJh: Jason Capel 25, Damien Wilkins 11. Iol: Brad Anderson 13. Fair: Greg Jefferson 19. Moan: Ramsey Williams 16.
At Palama Settlement
Varsity boys
Yesterday's results
Camrose (Can.) 70, Max Cameron (Can.) 28
Waianae 48, McKinley 28
Chula Vista (Calif.) 67, Maryknoll 47
Clarence Fulton (Can.) 59, Mt. Pleasant (Calif.) 54
Yesterday's results
Waiakea 61, St. Joseph's 46
Kalani 82, Farrington 79
Punahou 52, Pearl City 32
Kauai 69, Hilo 59
Everyone has golden moments that brighten their life from time to time. Yesterday at the Banzai Pipeline, Makaha surfer Johnny Boy Gomes enjoyed a fistful of magic moments that brightened the lives of thousands of spectators at the Chiemsee Gerry Lopez Pipe Masters. Gomes masters Pipeline
By Greg Ambrose, Star-BulletinEverything Gomes did was golden, as he caught the biggest waves, made the steepest drops, rode the deepest barrels and enjoyed a payoff that was a long time coming.
"Ever since I was a kid this was a dream. I thought I could do it sooner, but better late than never," said Gomes, 32. "I wanted to prove I was one of the best tube riders."
Although Gomes has had a memorable year, winning the HIC Pipeline Pro and the Rusty Pro at Honolua Bay on Maui, his victory yesterday against the world's top surfers was supreme, and did much to erase the memory of a painful childhood on the Waianae Coast.
The Pipe Masters win also erased Gomes' nagging dissatisfaction with his previous best professional moment, when he was pleased merely to be in the finals of the 1991 Wyland Galleries Pro in perfect waves at Haleiwa with former world champions Tom Curren, Martin Potter and Tom Carroll.
"This win tops everything," Gomes said.
Gomes rampaged through the 6- to 8-foot waves at Pipeline yesterday like a ravenous tiger shark, leaving devastated competitors in his wake. The lefts at Pipeline and the rights at Backdoor beckoned surfers into the tube, then cruelly slammed shut on their heads. But whenever his opponents got hammered, Gomes responded with an impossible barrel on a bigger wave.
Gomes had an immediate and emphatic answer whenever an adversary snagged a good tube ride for a fine score. When Kalani Robb enjoyed a shack attack at Pipeline for a 7.5, Gomes quickly responded with a deeper Pipeline tube and an 8.2 score.
His first heat of the day with Kaipo Jaquias sparked a premonition that Kanaloa, the Hawaiian god of the sea, had blessed Gomes' quest for victory.
Triple Crown of Surfing defending champion Jaquias gave Gomes his best shot, but all the choice waves in the heat evaded Jaquias and headed straight for Gomes.
Young world tour pro Kalani Robb destroyed Shane Beschen in his first heat, then was battered into submission by Gomes in the following round.
The Makaha mauler's next victim was in the first semifinal heat with Big Island's Shane Dorian, also a WCT pro.
Dorian watched in dismay as Gomes opened the heat by stroking wildly over the ledge on a dredging, pitching beast of a wave. Gomes took a sickeningly late drop, grabbed a rail and went flying at top speed backside through the deepest, darkest heart of the wave and out into the sunlight as the crowd roared its approval.
The judges showed their approval with a unanimous vote of perfect 10s.
Gomes then soul arched into a deep barrel at Backdoor and came flying out for an 8.0 from the judges, and showed he was in the tube zone by immediately grabbing another deep, full-speed Backdoor barrel for a 7.7 score as Dorian watched in shock.
Dorian regained his composure with a deceptively casual tube at Backdoor for an 8.7, but Gomes was on fire. He plunged into another deep backside barrel at Pipeline, then whipped around while paddling back out and grabbed another late-drop left and slammed the lip, throwing up spray for emphasis.
But Gomes didn't provide all the drama of this last contest of the Association of Surfing Professionals World Championship Tour.
Things were looking bleak for three-time Triple Crown winner Sunny Garcia in his quarterfinal heat with young Aussie sensation Beau Emmerton.
Garcia splashed the water nervously as the ocean went to sleep in the last five minutes of the heat, with Garcia desperate for a 6.5 ride to regain the lead.
With two minutes left, Garcia let Emmerton take the first wave, then cursed his luck as the wave behind turned out to be unridable. Incredibly, with 10 seconds left, a wave appeared from nowhere, and Garcia pounced, tucking into a Backdoor barrel and ending the ride with a floater to earn a 7.5 ticket to the semifinals.
"Even though we didn't win the world title this year, I still believe that Hawaiian surfers are the best surfers in the world," Garcia said. And sure enough, the four semifinalists in the contest were from Hawaii.
Michael Ho won the Pipe Masters back in 1982 with a cast on his broken hand. He's now two decades older than Robb, and many others on the WCT. Yesterday he showed that age is no handicap, as he bested some of surfing's top performers.
First to fall to the crafty, wily veteran was two-time world champion Damien Hardman of Australia. Ho then gave a memorable lesson in surfing tactics to WCT pro Michael Rommelse, winner of this year's Triple Crown of Surfing title based on his performance in the OP Pro, Rip Curl World Cup and Pipe Masters.
Ho then set his sights on Mark Occhilupo, who has made an incredible comeback performance after winning the Pipe Masters in 1986 in huge waves, ending up behind Kelly Slater at No. 2 in the world this year.
Ho and Occhilupo traded the lead throughout the heat in another nail-biter, then Ho seized the lead with five minutes left with a deep barrel at Backdoor that ended with multiple lip snaps all the way to shore.
He then sealed the deal with a solid backside barrel at Pipeline with two minutes left, and was set to take on Garcia in the semifinal.
"I got lucky," Ho said, adding "I know Sunny is the favorite, but we're going to have fun out there."
Unfortunately for Garcia, Ho had all the fun, grabbing quick scoring rights and lefts while Garcia got hammered in a deep backside barrel. After Ho padded his lead with a sick, late backside drop and deep barrel at Pipeline, Garcia desperately paddled into a huge, hopeless peak that pitched Garcia with the lip and a hideous pounding that sent a collective groan through the crowd.
When Garcia's last wave closed out, Ho and Gomes made ASP contest history by being the first two ever to meet in the finals at the end of the long and grueling battle through the trials competition past the seeded international field of pros.
This last heat was to be the most difficult for Gomes, at least emotionally.
"It was hard out there, Michael is a legend," Gomes said. "Guys like Michael and Gerry Lopez are my inspiration."
While Ho drained a gallon of salt water from his sinuses and gratefully caught his breath, the world's top longboarders and contest namesake Gerry Lopez performed on longboards at Pipeline, with world longboard champion Dino Miranda and Lopez sharing a peak, each getting a simultaneous deep tube at Backdoor and Pipeline.
Although Ho was game, this was destined to be Gomes' special day. The final round started with a maddeningly long lull, and when the ocean reawakened, Gomes bulled his way out of a Backdoor barrel with sheer willpower after the ceiling collapsed on his head.
Ho briefly held the lead after a pair of nice tubes at Backdoor, and it looked as though Gomes' luck had run out when he got pitched with the lip and trampolined in the white water.
But he quickly resumed his dominance, grabbing a deep, long barrel at Backdoor that brought the crowd to its feet, then completed his victory by throwing up spray as he gouged a huge left at Pipeline.
In a tearful moment on the victor's stand, Gomes dedicated his win to "all those who couldn't be here with us," musician Israel Kamakawiwoole, Makaha lifeguard Pua Mokuau, and North Shore surfers Ronnie Burns and Todd Chesser.
Ho had some words of advice for older surfers everywhere. "Just go surfing."
SURFING
At Pipeline
Chiemsee Pipe Masters
Yesterday's results
Round 3: Shane Dorian def. Fabio Silva; Matt Hoy def. Todd Prestage; Kalani Robb def. Shane Beschen; John Gomes def. Kaipo Jaquias; Beau Emerton def. Shane Powell; Sunny Garcia def. Chris Gallagher; Mark Occhilupo def. Ross Williams, and Michael Ho def. Michael Rommelse.
Quarterfinals: Dorian def. Hoy; Gomes def. Robb; Garcia def. Emerton, and Ho def. Occhilupo.
Semifinals: Gomes def. Dorian, and Ho def. Garcia.
Finals: Gomes def. Ho.
SOCCER
Varsity girls
OIA
Waipahu 1, Nanakuli 1
Radford 8, Leilehua 1
Aiea 6, Waialua 0
Mililani 4, Waianae 0
Pearl City 8, Campbell 0
Scorers-Waip: Arlynn Orpilla. Nan: Tashalynn Willing. Rad: Taryn Geolina 4, Michelle Stevens 2, Megan Rivera, Natasha Rivera. Lei: Jamie Harlor. Aiea: Joelle Sugai 2, Alyssa Tottori 2, Kelsey Greer, Janette Miyashiro. Mil: Jodi Enomoto, Taryn Jim, Hauoli Kondo, Trina Sanders. PC: Charity Drumeller 2, Tiffany Makue 2, Michelle Gopwani, Sharma Ambrocio, Kimberly Sakima, Ami Balechi.
Varsity boys
Radford 3, Leilehua 1
Aiea 5, Waialua 1
Mililani 1, Waianae 1
Pearl City 2, Campbell 1
Scorers-Rad: Theo Stiller 2, Matt Hunter. Lei: Western Fujii. Aiea: Sean Sprinkel 3, Brandon Tamayo, Ben Villaflor. Waial: Matt Ellis. Mil: Kyle Fukuchi. PC: Anthony Makue, Gerard Horn. Camp: James Thorpe.
ILH
Junior varsity boys
Punahou Gold 2, Punahou Blue 1
UH names two interim coaches
Former University of Hawaii golfers Ronn Miyashiro and Marga Stubblefield have been named interim coaches for the Rainbows' men's and women's golf teams.Former men's coach, Duane Pavao, and women's coach, Bobbi Kokx, both resigned.
Miyashiro was captain of last year's men's team and at 23 years of age becomes the youngest head coach in UH history.
Stubblefield, a 1975 UH graduate, played on the LPGA Tour before returning to Hawaii and working as a golf instructor.
QB CLUB: Former Punahou and Michigan State football player Kale Ane, Michigan State senior associate athletic director Clarence Underwood and Washington University assistant athletic director Meyer Corrigan are the speakers at Monday's meeting of the Honolulu Quarterback Club.
Lunch at the Flamingo Chuckwagon starts at 11:30, with the first speaker going on at noon. It is open to the public.