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Family and friends
keep the faith in Ewa
Fan pride runs high as hometown
heroes show how hard work and
play can pay off
"Work Hard. Play Hard."
Those words are engraved on a wooden sign on the top shelf of Layton Aliviado's garage, and it was partially hidden from view yesterday by a large television set showing the Little League World Series championship.
Those same words were carved in the minds of his Ewa Beach players, including his own son, who showed the baseball world that hard work and hard play indeed have a payoff.
Yesterday, team manager Aliviado led Ewa Beach youngsters to an international title with a dramatic 7-6 victory over defending champion Curacao.
And Layton's father, who was watching the game from the carport with dozens of friends and family members, had no doubt that his son's team from Ewa Beach could prevail, despite falling behind early.
"I told you they're gonna make it," said Herbert Aliviado Sr., who wore his son's blue West Oahu Little League baseball cap while he watched the game on the big TV set. "I got my faith in God."
And like his son, he also had faith in old-fashioned hard work.
"My son says, 'Play hard, work hard.' It paid off," Aliviado Sr. said. "We're the champions of the world."
In Hawaii, where baseball competes with football, volleyball and surfing, just to name a few sports, these kids from Ewa Beach turned America's pastime into Hawaii's pride.
Sure, the cheers roared from the Aliviado's home, but they did as well from countless other places on the islands, where typically busy streets carried light traffic during the live telecast.
At the Ewa Town Center, Foodland employee Jenny Colon looked at her left arm and said, "My hair is still standing up."
Colon said a co-worker kept employees and shoppers up to date on the game through the store's public address system. "I kept whistling in the store. I didn't care," she said.
The state's top political leaders lined up to congratulate the team, and they might have to wait a little longer. They were expected to visit the White House before returning to the islands.
"Throughout, with these boys, you could see it in their eyes. They never gave up," Mayor Mufi Hannemann said, noting that he tried to catch a plane to watch the game but could not get a flight.
"They were leading our country. That made me proud. They are proud to be from Ewa Beach," Hannemann said. "They are proud to be American."
"They showed that in life, you don't give up if you want something bad enough," said Hannemann, whose sister has a nephew in the team.
But it wasn't just the players getting accolades. So did Layton Aliviado as the team's manager.
"He was so cool and composed. ... When they fell behind, they never panicked. He instilled that confidence," said Hannemann, reflecting that Aliviado's composure could be seen in his baseball players.
A victory parade to honor the Ewa Beach team is being planned, Hannemann said. Gov. Linda Lingle's spokesman, Russell Pang, said her office was making arrangements with officials at the White House to recognize the baseball players.
At Aliviado's home about 50 people watched the game under canopies set up along the driveway. The no-parking cul-de-sac in front of the home was filled with vehicles.
"I feel on top of the world right now," said Kiilani Guevara, mother of Quentin Guevara, the starting pitcher.
"I'm proud. They worked hard and achieved their goal," said Guevara, noting that her son and the other baseball players practiced six days a week. Guevara stayed in Honolulu with their three other children as her husband, Stanley, cheered with other Hawaii parents in the stadium. "It was just unbelievable," she said. "They came from behind and they did it."
From the start it was a family effort, and that meant some big sacrifices.
Genevieve Seguivant-Llanes said her son, Myron, quit his job as a truck driver after his supervisor did not allow him to take leave without pay so he could travel with his son.
"He said his son is only going to be 12 once," she said. "The children deserve it all the way. My prayers were answered," said Seguivant-Llanes, grandmother to Myron Enos, who played shortstop and pitcher, and is the first cousin of teammates Layson Aliviado and Sheyne Baniaga.
"This is a dream come true for my brother. We did it," said Aliviado's older brother, Herbert Jr. "I'm happy for my brother. ... No matter how they tried to stop them, they made it back."
Down the street from the Aliviado residence, the Lassiter family also watched the game in their garage. "We were at the edge of our chairs hanging for dear life," said Marion Lassiter, who watched the game with her husband, Henry, and their daughter Henrietta. "They did a great job."
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