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Saturday, February 26, 2000
Hilo sticks
together to
win state title
The Vikings hold off St. Louis
Crusaders’ comeback falls short
in the final of the State Boys'
Basketball Championships
All-tournament team By Dave Reardon
Star-BulletinAll week at the Stan Sheriff Center, various members of the Hilo High School basketball team took turns toting around what most would see as a meaningless little bundle of wood.
But the 13 koa sticks symbolized everything for the Vikings, who became state champions by beating St. Louis, 68-55, last night at the Hawaiian Airlines Boys' State Basketball Championships.
"Coach (Larry Manliguis) showed us that one stick by itself breaks easily," Hilo guard Jason Mandaquit said on Wednesday after a first-round victory. "But 13 together? No can."
That proved true even when one of the Big Island Interscholastic Federation champions' strongest limbs fouled out with 4:19 left and last night's title game on the line.
"We still had 13," Mandaquit said. "Kimo was still with us from the bench."
Kimo is Kimo Keiter-Charles, Mandaquit's backcourt mate who is to scoring and athleticism what Mandaquit is to court vision and savvy.
"That's our go-to man," forward Wesley Martinez said of Keiter-Charles.
When Keiter-Charles fouled out and Hilo's lead shrunk to 49-45, Mandaquit and the Vikings feared they might choke away a game they once led 32-14 -- especially since it was Keiter-Charles' spectacular behind-the-back dribble, reverse layup that got them to that point 4:10 before halftime.
But in the fourth quarter, that seemed almost as long ago as 1967 or 1957 -- the two other times these schools met in the final, with St. Louis winning both. In fact, the Crusaders, with gutsy Junior Wong leading the way with 19 points last night, came very close to making it 8-0 against Hilo in state tournament games.
"I was real scared at first (when Keiter-Charles fouled out). I didn't know what to do," Mandaquit said. "But Wes stepped up."
Martinez, a 6-2 forward who does the dirty work for the Vikings, scored 16 points, as did Keiter-Charles and Mandaquit. Martinez got 10 of his points after Keiter-Charles exited. He also led Hilo with eight rebounds.
"We just could not get over the hump," St. Louis coach Delbert Tengan said. "That's to Hilo's credit. They withstood the flurry that we had and came back and gave us the knockout punch at the end."
The KO came on a 7-0 Hilo run after St. Louis had closed it to 53-50 on two free throws at 3:17 by Enoch McKeague, who finished with 13 points.
But in the next two minutes, Mandaquit scored on a driving layup, Martinez converted after a steal, and Holoakea Nathaniel scored the last two of his 10 points on a driving layup. Meanwhile, the Interscholastic League of Honolulu champions turned the ball over three times, along with their chance at their seventh state title and first since 1986.
"We showed poise," Mandaquit said. "The press got us turnovers."
St. Louis had 26 turnovers, and Mandaquit was credited with six of Hilo's 15 steals.
Martinez scored six more points and controlled two rebounds in the last 1:19 to seal the Vikings' championship.
"We knew we were going to beat them," Martinez said. "Hilo is never-say-die."
So is St. Louis, which had crept back into the game after nine first-quarter turnovers in part because the Vikings couldn't finish on the fastbreak after shooting 10-of-15 in the first quarter.
"We had seven or eight transition (opportunities) in the second quarter and only got one," Manliguis said. "Then we had problems running our halfcourt offense. We started walking the ball and playing St. Louis' game," Mandaquit said.
Tough perimeter defense from Wong, McKeague and Jason Rivers helped St. Louis get back into it after Hilo's early double-digit lead. So did Rivers' 16-footer that got the Crusaders to 35-25 at intermission.
"At half time Coach Larry said we have to play defense," Mandaquit said. "That's our main focus. Defense is 80 percent of our practice. He said just match them basket for basket; they get two points, we get two points."
It didn't work exactly that way, but it was close enough. Although Mandaquit ended up with 10 turnovers, his ballhandling under duress was one reason he was voted the tournament's MVP.
"He's probably the best point guard in the state right now," said McKeague.
Hilo finished the year 14-1 in league and postseason play and 25-1 overall. The tournament's top-seeded team proved it was the best by beating the second-seeded Crusaders (12-3, 16-7) -- even with a stick missing from the bundle.
"It was hard to watch (the end from the bench)," Keiter-Charles said. "But I knew the team could do it. All year, it's been team."
St. Louis 10 15 12 18-55 Hilo 22 13 10 23-68 ST. LOUIS: Joey Borja 2, Enoch McKeague 13, John Paul Kanoa 5, Junior Wong 19, Kalvin Koverman 7, Bobby Tappy 0, Jose Vidad 0, Adam Dreher 0, Brenden Clement 0, Jason Rivers 7, Sanoe Mokuahi 2.
HILO: Jason Mandaquit 16, Wesley Martinez 16, Kimo Keiter-Charles 16, Napela Naniole 8, Holoakea Nathaniel 10, Bryson Moses 0, Preston Jarneski 2, Tyson Takiue 0, Chris Kanakaole 0.
3-point goals-St. Louis 5 (Wong 3, McKeague, Koverman); Hilo 3 (Nathaniel 2, Keiter-Charles). Rebounds-St. Louis 25 (Kanoa 9, Koverman 4); Hilo 28 (Martinez 8, Keiter-Charles, Naniole, Nathaniel 5). Assists-St. Louis 9 (Borja, Wong, Koverman 2); Hilo 10 (Mandaquit 4, Martinez, Naniole, Nathaniel 2).
ROOSEVELT 54, BALDWIN 40: Chad Kapanui led the Rough Riders (13-3) past the Bears (15-5) for third place.
Roosevelt 13 7 15 19-54 Baldwin 5 8 8 19-40 ROOSEVELT: Van Dorsey 12, Chad Owens 3, Maulia LaBarre 8, Chad Kapanui 17, T.J. Talaro 2, Keola Steitzel 4, Joshua Yoshimoto 3, Cyle Kuwanoe 1, Cade Uyechi 2, Kala Koki 2.
BALDWIN: A.J. Garbin 3, Cliff Dagulo 2, Lenn Nakama 2, Kalei Houpo 8, Isaac Medeiros 0, Pono Ordonez 6, Jon Ciacci 8, Reed Suzuki 3, Michael Donahoo 4, Peter Higa 0, Alika Amasiu 0, Brandon Ahonima 2, Lanakila Barrows 0, Kealoha Range 2.
3-point goals-Roosevelt 2 (Kapanui, Yoshimoto); Baldwin 0. Rebounds-Roosevelt 33 (LaBarre 9, Dorsey 6); Baldwin 35 (Dagulo 6, Ciacci 5). Assists-Roosevelt 7 (Uyechi, Talaro 2); Baldwin 7 (Dagulo 2).
KALAHEO 49, RADFORD 43: The Mustangs (13-3) beat the Rams (15-3) for fifth place.
Kalaheo 14 7 13 15-49 Radford 15 3 7 18-43 KALAHEO: Eric Sandoval 7, Ikaika Alama-Francis 12, Duane Ijima 6, Erin Moorhead 0, D.C. Daniels 10, Billy Holland 0, Nate Ijima 2, Shaydon Marumoto 0, Aubrey Bradley 0, James Robertson 5, Andrew Braley 2, Karl Kuhau-Liftee 4, Adrian Aurelio 1.
RADFORD: Jacob Avilla 5, Jacob Sur 0, Sa Tanuvasa 6, Frank Kuresa 2, Matt Manuma 0, Justin Cariaga 0, David Foster 2, Chris Pirtle 0, Robert Sanchez 0, Sam Baker 13, Isaac Dunklee 15, Jonathan Atimua 0.
3-point goals-Kalaheo 5 (Sandoval, D. Ijima 2, Robertson); Radford 5 (Baker, Dunklee 2, Avilla). Rebounds-Kalaheo 33 (Alama-Francis 8, Daniels 7); Radford 31 (Baker 9, Tanuvasa 5). Assists-Kalaheo 11 (D. Ijima, Daniels 3); Radford 8 (Tanuvasa 4).
MILILANI 70, HONOKAA 61: The Trojans (10-7) came back in the second half to top the Dragons (11-5) in the consolation final.
Honokaa 16 15 10 20-61 Mililani 11 18 19 22-70 HONOKAA: Derek Gabriel 28, Austin Souza 3, Kenny Ruiz 8, Edward Aldridge 14, Kellen Tolentino 4, Andrew Gancinia 0, Kelton Ventura 0, Jeffrey Juan 4, Keola Nobriga 0, Kaimana Kahuanui 0, Erwin Valenzuela 0, Jeremy Moniz 0, Lexter Gaddi 0.
MILILANI: Chad Townsend 3, Daireyon Abrams 10, Lawrence Ching 8, Koku Potac 4, Justin Grahovac 10, Ryan Santos 20, Ian Monongdo 13, Troy Wailehua 2, Koji Price 0, Taylor Kirihara 0, Andrew Min 0, Kauka Castro 0, Shawn Mida 0, Maurice Johnson 0.
3-point goals-Honokaa 9 (Gabriel 6, Aldridge 2, Souza); Mililani 2 (Townsend, Ching). Rebounds-Honokaa 28 (Gabriel 5); Mililani 41 (Abrams, Potac 8). Assists-Honokaa 10 (Juan, Souza, Ruiz 2); Mililani 21 (Monongdo 6, Townsend, Abrams, Kirihara, Castro, Grahovac 3).
Crusaders’ comeback
By Brandon Lee
falls short
Special to the Star-BulletinNo one remembers who finishes second, only who wins.
While this is true in general, it does not pertain to the St. Louis boys' basketball team, which lost to Hilo, 68-55, last night in the final of the Hawaiian Airlines Boys' State Basketball Championships.
Early on, the outcome appeared decided as the Vikings ripped apart the Crusaders' full-court press for easy buckets and caused turnovers in bunches with their own baseline-to-baseline pressure; Hilo jumped out to a 22-10 lead after the first quarter.
"We did not attack the press like we wanted to. We tried to force the issue a little too much and got in a frenzy," Crusaders coach Delbert Tengan said.
Two and a half minutes into the second quarter, the Vikings lead had ballooned to 30-11.
But the Crusaders staged a determined run beginning just past the halfway point of the second quarter. Led by senior guard Junior Wong, the Crusaders went on a 9-1 run in the closing minutes of the quarter, trimming the lead to 35-25.
Tengan said he praised his team at halftime for cutting the lead.
"I told them if we could get the lead down to single digits by the start of the fourth quarter, we'll be right there," he said.
In the second half, the Crusaders continued to chip away at the Vikings lead, again with Wong leading the charge.
Whether from beyond the arc, where he was 3-of-5, knocking down 8-of-12 free throws, or in his teammate's face after a missed opportunity, Wong was clearly the physical and emotional leader for the Crusaders.
His two free throws with 5:47 left narrowed the margin to 45-42.
Vikings coach Larry Manliguis responded by putting starting guards Jason Mandaquit and Kimo Keiter-Charles back into the game, though both were saddled with four fouls.
The move worked for the Vikings, even though Keiter-Charles soon fouled out; before he did, he hit a big 3-pointer. Mandaquit contributed several steals, and helped Hilo run out the clock with his ballhandling.
Said Keiter-Charles of the Crusaders, "We knew they were strong and had hope, but not enough to beat us."
Tengan said determination was a St. Louis trait all season.
"That has been the strength and character of this team -- they refuse to give up. Though no one gave us much of a chance at the start of the season, we got to the championship game, but just fell a little short," said the first-year coach.
Said Wong: "They played hard, they deserve it. I give a lot of props to them, they played together, and they are a good ballclub."
All-Tournament team
Jason Mandaquit, Hilo (MVP)
