Eight California basketball teams, one from Oregon and another from Kentucky will join host St. Louis and five other Hawaii teams in the Walter Wong Tournament running from Friday to Tuesday, Dec. 30, at McCabe Gym on the Crusaders' campus. St. Louis hosts
Walter Wong hoopsPunahou, Iolani, Kalaheo, Kaiser and Hilo are the other Hawaii teams.
Games will be played at 10 and 11:30 a.m. and 1, 2:30, 4, 5:30, 7 and 8:30 p.m. each day except Sunday, when no games are scheduled.
Admission is $5 for adults and $2 for students.
UH WAHINE 25TH IN FINAL POLL: The University of Hawaii women's volleyball team slipped from 15th to 25th position in the final USA Today/AVCA Coaches poll after a first-round exit in the NCAA tournament.
NCAA champ Stanford, third in the rankings before the tournament, swept all 60 first-place votes in the final poll, finishing with a 1,500-1,439 margin over runner-up Penn State.
TIGERS HOST WRESTLING MEET: State champion Kamehameha, ILH champion Iolani and OIA champ McKinley are among 20 boys' teams from around the state that are set to compete in the Tiger Open Wrestling Tournament Friday and Saturday at the McKinley gym.
A girls' tournament will be held at the same time, featuring OIA champion Radford.
Wrestling starts at noon Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday.
Admission is $2 each day.
SAMOAN STANDOUTS TO BE HONORED: San Francisco 49ers lineman Jesse Sapolu, a former Farrington and University of Hawaii star, will host the third annual Samoa International Sports Awards Banquet on Saturday, Jan. 31, at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Laie.
This year's event will focus attention in particular on the best high school and college football players of Samoan ancestry last season.
Masters of ceremony at the banquet will be Pulefano Galeai of the Polynesian Cultural Center and entertainer Tara Thompson of Tihati Production.
Past honorees have included Al Lolotai, Charles Ane Sr., Neff Maiava, Famika Anae, Tony Solaita, Seiuli Paul Wallwork, Dan Saleaumua, Peter "Fats" Fatialofa and David Tua.
TRACK CLINICS AT KAISER: The third annual Hawaii Elite Celebrity Olympic Track and Field Clinic and a national track and field officials clinic will be held at Kaiser High School Jan. 17-18.
Track athletes and coaches expected to conduct the clinics include Latanya Sheffield, Martin Krulee, Chris Huffins, Jan Johnson, Robyne Johnson, Aaron Thigpen, Pam Dukes and Mark Conover.
The Celebrity Olympic sessions will run from 8:30 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 5 p.m. each day.
Fees are $25 (high school age and lower) and $40 (coaches, parents) for Oahu residents; $15 and $30 for neighbor island residents, and $250 (which includes lodging for three days) for non-Hawaii residents. The last day to register for Hawaii residents is Jan. 16.
The officials clinic, featuring Paul Mahoney, Eugene Stemm, Bob Baker and Ray Fitzhugh, will run from 8 a.m. to noon and 1-5 p.m. each day. The cost is $30 for all Hawaii residents.