Four of the 12 teams in this week's 2003 Hawaiian Airlines Boys State Basketball Championship are undefeated. Iolani gains top seed
Work pays off for NashStar-Bulletin staff
As expected, Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion Iolani (14-0) is the top seed, followed in order by the Maui Interscholastic League champion Maui Sabers (14-0), Big Island champion and tournament newcomer Keaau (13-0) , and Oahu Interscholastic Association champion Kalaheo (11-3).
Unseeded Waimea (8-0), the Kauai champion, is the other undefeated team.
The tournament starts Wednesday with four games at Blaisdell Arena featuring unseeded teams --Leilehua (11-2) vs. Waimea at 2:15 p.m., Waiakea (9-4) vs. Kamehameha (12-4) at 4, Baldwin (10-4) vs. Mililani (9-5) at 5:45, and Saint Louis (11-3) vs. Kaimuki (11-2) at 7:30.
The seeded teams swing into action on Thursday, and the tournament runs through Saturday's 8 p.m. championship game.
Defending champion Iolani is one of several teams that hasn't played a game in a while. The Raiders wrapped up their undefeated regular season on Feb. 13 with a win over Mid-Pacific.
"Being off, a lot of people worry about whether that hurts you or not, but I like it," Iolani coach Mark Mugiishi said. "You can refocus on things that need to get better before the tournament."
Leilehua coach Keith Spencer summed up the pre-tournament view of himself and many others when he said:
"It's Iolani and everybody else."
(All games at Blaisdell Arena) Hawaiian Airlines Boys
State Basketball ChampionshipSeeded teams: 1. Iolani (14-0), 2. Maui (14-0), 3. Keaau (13-0), 4. Kalaheo (11-3).
Wednesday, Feb. 26
Game 1: Leilehua vs. Waimea, 2:15 p.m.
Game 2: Waiakea vs. Kamehameha, 4 p.m.
Game 3: Baldwin vs. Mililani, 5:45 p.m.
Game 4: Saint Louis vs. Kaimuki, 7:30 p.m.Thursday, Feb. 27
Game 5: Losers of Games 2 and 3, 12:30 p.m.
Game 6: Keaau vs. Winner Game 4, 2:15 p.m.
Game 7: Maui vs. Winner Game 1, 4 p.m.
Game 8: Iolani vs. Winner Game 3, 5:45 p.m.
Game 9: Kalaheo vs. Winner Game 2, 7:30 p.m.Friday, Feb. 28
Game 10: Losers of Games 1 and 4, 1:45 p.m.
Game 11: Losers of Games 8 and 9, 3:30 p.m.
Game 12: Losers of Games 6 and 7, 5:15 p.m.
Game 13: Winners of Games 6 and 7, 7 p.m.
Game 14: Winners of Games 8 and 9, 8:30 p.m.Saturday, March 1
Consolation championship
Game 15: Winners of Games 5 and 10, 3 p.m.Fifth-place game
Game 16: Winners of Games 11 and 12, 4:30 p.m.Third-place game
Game 17: Losers of Games 13 and 14, 6 p.m.Championship game
Game 18: Winners of Games 13 and 14, 8 p.m.
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