Perkins rides to
Pro Longboard title
Hawaii's Bonga Perkins stroked into the largest waves of the day and rode them to the Bear Hawaiian Pro Longboard Invitational championship yesterday at Alii Beach Park at Haleiwa.Perkins opened the day with a 10-point ride in the quarterfinals and got another 10-pointer in the final with a gaping tube-ride on one of the biggest waves of the day.
He earned $7,500 for the victory, beating out two lifelong friends --Lance Hookano and Rusty Keaulana --and South Africa's Jason Ribbink in the final.
Ribbink finished second, followed by Hookano in third and Keaulana fourth.
"I surf out here every other day, so I'm pretty comfortable with the place," Perkins said.
The event is part of the Vans Triple Crown umbrella, but the results do not count toward the official Triple Crown race.
Eligibility of 3 UH players remains in limbo
The Hawaii basketball team's flight to the Big Island yesterday was held up for several hours because of a mechanical problem on the plane. But that was a minor inconvenience considering the travails caused by the failure of the NCAA and the UH administration to communicate.As of late yesterday afternoon, the NCAA eligibility of three players remained in limbo. None are expected to play tomorrow as UH meets Mercer in the first round of the Hawaii-Hilo Big Island Tournament.
UH compliance coordinator Daniel Arakaki missed phone connections yesterday with an NCAA official. UH had hoped the official -- who will not be available again until next week -- would clear Luc-Arthur Vebobe to play. The Rainbows had declared the junior forward ineligible and held him out of the team's first two games because of participation among pro players.
Vebobe did not make the trip to Hilo because of NCAA rules regarding ineligible players.
But the other two players, senior guard Predrag Savovic and freshman forward Tony Akpan, are with the team. They are technically eligible to play, but are also involved in eligibility issues and were held out of the first two games. Savovic's issues involve playing with pros in his native Yugoslavia and Akpan's have to do with how he arrived in the U.S. from his Nigeria homeland while he was a high school student.
Hawaii's Viloria to fight again for his country
Waipahu's Brian Viloria, who fought at the Sydney Olympics last year, will fight his fourth pro bout and first six-rounder tomorrow night at the Roseland Ballroom in New York.Viloria, 3-0 as a pro in the 112-pound division, goes up against 29-year-old Mike Thomas (4-2-1) of Baltimore.
The bout is part of "Fighting for America: A Night of Thanksgiving," a series of fights to benefit the families of the victims of the World Trade Center attacks.
"I fought for my country in the Olympics," Viloria said yesterday during a workout at Chelsea Piers in Manhattan. "This is another way for us to do something to help our country and give something back to our community."
Nelson to defend MasterCard title
Larry Nelson will be back to defend the 2002 MasterCard Championship, which runs Jan. 14-20 at the Hualalai Golf Club in Kaupulehu-Kona.The tournament of champions and money list leaders kicks off the Senior PGA Tour's 23rd season.
The field includes 32 others -- George Archer, Jose Maria Canizares, Jim Colbert, Ed Dougherty, Allen Doyle, Dave Eichelberger, Bruce Fleisher, Raymond Floyd, Bob Gilder, Hubert Green, Walter Hall, Joe Inman, Hale Irwin, John Jacobs, Tom Jenkins, Tom Kite, Bruce Lietzke, Graham Marsh, Mike McCullough, Gil Morgan, Dana Quigley, Sammy Rachels, John Schroeder, Doug Tewell, Leonard Thompson, Jim Thorpe, Lee Trevino, Steve Veriato, Bobby Wadkins, Lanny Wadkins, Tom Watson and Tom Wargo.
Nelson won the 2001 tourney by one stroke over Thorpe.
The 54-hole tournament airs on two channels. PAX-TV covers the first round and CNBC-TV takes over for the final two rounds.
Moanalua hosts holiday soccer
Twelve girls teams and six boys teams from across the state play in the Moanalua High School 2001 Soccer Classic from tomorrow through Sunday at the Waipio Soccer Complex.The girls teams include host Moanalua, Baldwin, Pahoa, Punahou, Iolani, Kaiser, Pearl City, Hilo, Kamehameha and Radford, along with two teams from Mililani.
The boys teams are host Moanalua, Campbell, St. Louis, Aiea, Kamehameha and Kapolei.
Tournament games start at noon tomorrow and 8 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Admission is free.
For more information, call Spencer Machado at 623-8444.
Thanksgiving soccer at Kaiser High School
Eight varsity teams and four junior varsity teams are playing in the Kaiser High School 2001 Thanksgiving Soccer Tournament tomorrow through Sunday.Boys teams from Mililani, Punahou, Waiakea, Hilo, Kapaa, Pac-Five and Pearl City join host Kaiser in the varsity division, while boys teams from Pac-Five, Punahou and Pearl City and host Kaiser make up the JV field.
Tournament games start at 1 p.m. tomorrow and 9 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Admission is $2 for adults and $1 for ages 6-17.