Chilly Road Trips Season Hanalani’s Fledgling Lady Royals
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usEven amid record-low temperatures on their visit to Clearwater,Fla., last week, the climate surrounding the Hanalani girls basketball trip remained ideal.
“The trip incorporates our school’s goals,“head girls basketball coach Charles Hiers said in a phone interview from Florida, where the temperature was in the 40s. “We want them to grow spiritually, socially, intellectually and physically. It’s a great opportunity, and they’re having a blast.
“We visited Busch Gardens (amusement park) - they were there from 10 to 7, and they wanted to stay longer - and we’ve been taking in some other sights. Tomorrow night, they’re going to attend an NBA game between Orlando and Boston.”
Basketball, of course, is the underlying point of emphasis for Hiers and the Lady Royals on their two-week trip. Hanalani, which is coming off a first-ever appearance in the Division II State Tournament last year, is in Greenville, S.C., this week to take part in the Bob Jones University Boys and Girls Prep Basketball Tournament. The Royals will play in a first-round game Wednesday with games to follow on Thursday and Friday. (Pairings for the tournament weren’t available at press time).
A strong showing in the Bob Jones Tournament would be an added bonus for the Royals,whose trip was nearly two years in the making. Because the tournament comes during the spring semester, players have to miss class time,and the ILH’s regular season also is in full swing, dictating the league scheduling around the Royals.
“We’ve always gone for nine days, so two weeks is a first,” Hiers said.“We had to do some finagling so we wouldn’t miss much class time. The ILH was more than willing to accommodate us.” The Hanalani boys team also made the trip, playing a total of six games in both locations.While enjoying the experience of travel, it was business as usual for the girls team last week, even though they had a break from games. The Royals were to have had five practices by Wednesday’s first-round game in Greenville.
“We’ve been visiting some of the finer eateries, if you know what I mean, so we might have to run a little more,” Hiers mused.
As in past years, Hanalani is a crowd favorite among the competing teams.“We’re definitely a novelty these two weeks,“he said.“People can’t believe we would bring a group of 39 from Hawaii.They’re shocked.”
Hiers is among those who believe travel helps to build cohesiveness. “They learn how to live with each other. They have to put others first and serve each other.”
For their part, the girls are in the midst of another solid season on the hardwood in the ILH, having posted a 4-2 record in the league’s first round. That was capped off by a 51-48 win over Saint Francis Jan. 15, the day before they flew to the Mainland.
“Saint Francis is a perennial state tournament team, and Paul (Tanaka) always does a good job with them, so the girls were ecstatic,” Hiers said. “We’ll see if we can keep it up.”
The Royals are led by junior point guard Samantha Hyde, a three-year starter, and senior center Rachel Matalau.“Samantha is very fast - she controls the whole tempo of our game. She’s also a good foul shooter, and she gets fouled a lot.
“Rachel’s strength is playing with her back to the basket. She’s active and aggressive and a strong player.”
With the departure of three players from last year’s team (two transferred to other schools and one relocated to Japan), the pair’s surrounding cast is young, including four sophomores who are logging heavy playing time. “We’re not as deep as we wanted to be, but they’re working hard and listening.”
Hanalani has six games remaining in the regular season with none bigger than their next encounter - league leader Maryknoll at home on Tuesday (Feb. 2). But that game is part of the future, of course. For the present, the Royals and their entourage were to work snowboarding and skiing into their schedule before returning to the Island on Saturday.
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