ASSOCIATED PRESS Konawaena coaches B.J. Ellis, top, and Donny Awa, right, tried to separate Kainoa Abril from referee Mason Souza during a Feb. 9 game in Konawaena.

Tumult doesn’t
stop Kona

On the way home, somewhere along the Hamakua Coast, the Konawaena Wildcats could finally breathe.

There is, after all, little else quite like the air of victory. Konawaena downed Waiakea 75-52 on Friday night to win the Big Island Interscholastic Federation basketball tournament championship. The Wildcats, ranked eighth in the Star-Bulletin Top 10, won their 15th league game in a row.

Konawaena (24-5) will return to the state tournament for the first time since the mid-1990s, when standout players Brandon Cablay and Wilton Paogofie were league players of the year.

The win was a highlight in a tumultuous span of nine days for the quiet countryside school in Kealakekua. A Feb. 9 incident involving Konawaena player Kainoa Abril took much of the shine off a sterling season. During a tiebreaker game with Waiakea, Abril pummeled a Warrior player before being ejected. Then, he attempted to tackle referee Mason Souza, who has since filed charges against the 18-year-old senior.

The Wildcats won that tiebreaker game and clinched a state-tournament berth, but the ensuing controversy tested their fortitude.

"The whole thing affected me, the coaches and the parents a lot more than it did the guys," Konawaena coach Donald Awa said. "The guys were ready for the playoff games."

Abril, who has since been suspended from participating in athletics, has shown signs of seeking amends. "He told the team last week that he was sorry for what he did. This week, he wrote the guys a letter of apology," Awa said.

"He knows he's done. He won't be playing again, but he feels bad for what he did."

On Friday, the return of senior T.J. Akina made a world of difference. Akina, a 6-foot-1 combo guard, poured in 32 points despite a sore ankle. Along with 14 points by Sean Fujii and 12 from Shannon Hardie, Konawaena turned a one-point halftime lead into a runaway against the formidable Warriors.

Jon Moniz scored 13 to lead Waiakea. Jordan Cabreros added 11.

"We got the lead to 12 or 13 points in the first half, but after Waiakea cut it down by halftime, some of our kids had their heads down," Awa said.

The Wildcats rebuilt a double-digit lead, and with 6 minutes left in the game, they spread the floor wide.

"It wasn't a stall. We just want to draw their defense out and attack when there were openings," said Awa, a first-year head coach with the boys. He has assisted his wife, Bobbie, with the Konawaena girls team for several years. The Wildcat girls will be defending their state championship this spring.

Last weekend, the Konawaena boys got past playoff tournament foes Kamehameha-Hawaii and Honokaa without their top player, Akina, as he healed up a sprained ankle. He returned for Friday's tournament title game and gave his team a spark.

So did a mammoth Konawaena caravan that made the 212-mile round trip from West Hawaii to the Afook-Chinen Hilo Civic Auditorium. "We had a bigger crowd than they did," Awa said.