Father-Son Combo Guides Team Down Alleys To Success
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usThe 2008 bowling season is history, but head coach Kellen Inafuku and his Mililani boys team are still drawing strength from it as they prepare for this year’s OIA championships next week at K-Bay Lanes on the Kaneohe Marine base.
“Being used to that level (of competition) definitely helps,” Inafuku said of the experience gained in Mililani’s OIA title run last year.“For a lot of freshmen, it (the post-season) will be the first time,and just being part of the team will give them great experience.”
Inafuku is one of the reasons the Trojans are always a team of high expectations.As a member of the 2002 team, he led Mililani to its first OIA title in 25 years under father and then-Trojan head coach Bruce Inafuku. Three years ago, Kellen took over the head job (with Bruce as an assistant),and the program has continued to keep to its winning ways.
The third-year coach expects as many as eight bowlers to qualify for the state bowling championships, which will be held later this month. First up, Mililani will close out its season Thursday in a match with other West foes. Next week, the top four OIA teams - East No. 1 and No. 2, West No. 1 and No. 2 - will meet in the league finals.
Mililani entered the weekend second in the West behind Pearl City, which has led the total pin-fall format throughout.Although the Trojans finished first in the OIA last year, the Chargers re-grouped big-time to win the state title a couple of weeks later and have been in stride ever since.
While Inafuku is aware of the competition that awaits, he’s more focused on his own team.“We’ve been doing pretty well, and we only have one senior,“he said.“The bottom line for us is to just get out there and have fun. You can’t get too technical - you have to bowl.”
Co-captains Adrian Basilio and Kyle Ortiz lead the way. Basilio is a senior,who finished in the state finals last season, and he’s averaged in the 190s this fall, according to his coach.
“He’s our anchor. He’s really dedicated.He practices a lot. His spare game has improved, and he can definitely shoot high scores.”
Ortiz is a junior,who is averaging between 180 and 190 to date. “He’s our lead-off guy. He sets the pace with his two-handed style, and he’s good at rallying the team.”
Juniors William Gaul and Kenton Soares also have had stellar seasons,averaging in the 180 range. Gaul’s output has been the more surprising of the pair, given his average was just around 120 last year. “He’s pretty unique - we’ve never had anyone improve like this.He practiced three or four days a week in the off-season. He’s also academically focused and has three AP classes.”
Soares is a multi-sport athlete,who also competes on the school’s golf and volleyball teams.“He’s really impressive for someone who doesn’t bowl all year. He’s like a captain,but he’s not a captain.He’s a real hard worker, and they all feed off of his energy.”
Inafuku also likes the young talent on his team, including sophomore Wayne Miyashiro (“He’s a clutch bowler, really good under pressure”) and freshmen Ronson Dagdag, Cody Wilcher and Ryan Miyashiro.
As the Trojans prepare for the post-season, converting their spares is a big point of emphasis.
“We focus on spares,” Inafuku said. “We tell them anyone can throw strikes.
“Not everyone can throw spares. In a match recently we missed 12 single spares that should never be missed. Add them all up, and that’s a lot of pins we lost.”
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