KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Seniors Anthony Holyfield and Bryson Borges are two of the reasons Roosevelt is 9-1 and among the seeded teams for the Oahu Interscholastic Association championship basketball tournament, which starts tomorrow.
Roosevelt basketball players Anthony Holyfield and Bryson Borges aren't kidding when they talk about teamwork.
Borges and Holyfield make
High School Notebook
Roosevelt's postseason
basketball chances brightBy Nick Abramo
nabramo@starbulletin.comThe two seniors know -- for sure -- that the key to the Rough Riders' successful season is that they're playing as a unit.
"It was always a matter of clicking, of everyone playing team ball," Borges said when recalling the thoughts he had prior to the team's first game of the season. "Not one person can do it all, but everyone can do a little.
"We're a tight-knit team and we all fool around together, but we also know when it's time to play."
Borges has come through in the clutch often this season. He hit the winning basket in a 50-48 victory over Kaimuki and in a 46-45 double-overtime thriller vs. Castle. He also made a 3-pointer to send the game to an extra period in a 40-39 victory over Kaiser.
Holyfield has had his share of late-game heroics as well. He went eight-for-eight from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to force Castle into OT. Against Kaiser, he dropped in one of two free throws at the end of extra time to wrap it up.
"Our team is real good working as a team," Holyfield said. "Now that we know we can do that, it all comes down to consistency and remembering not to get complacent.
"Everyone on our team is really close. We have a connection, and we're all the kind of guys who don't have enemies. At school, no one has a problem with us and we don't have a problem with anyone. This type of thing contributes to us working well together."
Roosevelt (9-1) won the Oahu Interscholastic Association Eastern Division regular-season championship and will be trying to throw a few knockout punches in this week's league tournament, which starts tomorrow.
Punches? Sounds about right with a guy by the name of Holyfield on the squad. No, the Rough Riders aren't that kind of team, but they are scrappy hustlers, and Anthony happens to be related to famous heavyweight boxer Evander Holyfield.
"He's my second cousin, my dad's first cousin," Anthony Holyfield said. "As a little kid, my dad (also named Anthony) went to a family reunion and Evander was there."
The elder Anthony played defensive tackle for the University of Hawaii football team in the early 1980s, and was a defensive end for the San Francisco 49ers in 1986 and '87.
"Anthony is our best post defender," Roosevelt coach John Chung said. "He has a good inside-outside game, with good post moves. He's our leading rebounder and leading scorer, a blue-collar player who goes hard in everything he does."
Going hard is Roosevelt's modus operandi. The Rough Riders push the ball upcourt with a fast-breaking, up-tempo game and try to force the issue with drives rather than rely on jumpers.
The 5-foot-10 Borges, who quarterbacked the Roosevelt football team in the fall, is one of the Rough Riders' guards trying to maintain that fast pace.
"Bryson looks like he's out of control," Chung said. "But that's just because he's giving it 100 percent. He's not a true basketball player, but he gets by because he's really athletic and quick. He's probably our best overall defensive player."
At 6-feet, Holyfield is the second-tallest player on the team.
"We can say he's 6-feet to make him happy," Chung said. "You've heard of the three-guard set? We play the five-guard set."
Teammate Ricky Eusebio testifies to the value the rest of the team places on Borges and Holyfield.
"They are a big part of our team," Eusebio said. "We look for them when we need a big play or a big basket. They're always working hard and they make sure we don't mentally collapse."
Roosevelt opens the OIA tournament at home on Friday against the winner of tomorrow's Mililani (7-3) vs. Kahuku (6-4) game. The Rough Riders will be trying to win the school's first OIA title since 2000, when they finished third at the state tournament.
If the outcome is on the line near the end, it's a reasonable assumption that Roosevelt will try to put the ball in the hands of Holyfield or Borges.
"They want the last shot," Chung said. "Most kids playing high school basketball are afraid they'll miss, but these guys are gamers and aren't afraid to shoot at any time.
"If there's a chance to win at the end, they want the ball."
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