Nathan Macadangdang, who guided Campbell to a girls basketball state championship a year ago, died on Wednesday night.

Macadangdang, who spent a decade at the helm of the program, stepped down after the Sabers won the Division II state crown due to health problems. Friends of the jovial coach were stunned by his sudden passing at the age of 45.

“;He came to our game on Tuesday at Mililani,”; current coach Jody Bantolina said.

Players and coaches mustered the will to play last night, posting a win over Radford.

“;When I first went in the locker room, I was going to talk about him, but people were already tearing up about him,”; Bantolina said. “;I tried not so much to talk about it, but we dedicated the game to him.

“;He loved to coach. That was his life. His smile. He's always smiling, always laughing. I'm glad he got to win a championship last year.”;

Among Macadangdang's contemporaries was Bob Morikuni, who coached McKinley's girls for many years.

“;I saw him at an HPU game back in November, supporting one of his (former) players,”; Morikuni said. “;He looked fine, in good spirits. He didn't even seem ill. He was a class guy, always coached with respect.”;

OIA girls basketball coordinator Mel Imai had plenty of respect for Macadangdang.

“;I thought he was a very good coach and took care of the kids, someone well-liked who knows the game and was always considerate of his players and other teams,”; Imai said.