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Trojans Bond And Blast Opponents

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Mililani High School junior Amber Ogata looks to pass during a practice game. Photo by Leah Ball, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

If there was a signature win in Mililani’s preseason, it was the 15-point drubbing of defending OIA Division I champion Kalani in mid-December.

While that success was certainly the kind to build on, girls basketball coach Patrick Basilio was equally buoyed by Mililani’s trip to Maui earlier last month, where his team took part in the King Kekaulike Pre-Season Tournament. In the all-important area of building cohesiveness, the Trojans more than passed that test, he said.

“As a bonding thing, it was great,“he said of his team’s four-day trip to the Big Island, where the Trojans posted wins over Hawaii Baptist Academy and King K to go with a loss to Sacred Hearts. “We have a family atmosphere now. Everyone is on the same page, and our expectations are the same. This may be the most talented team we’ve had here yet, so I expect the girls to make some noise.”

Early and often is the plan. Indeed, beginning with last Thursday night’s OIA Red West opener versus Pearl City, Mililani will play five of its first six games at home, including Wednesday night’s matchup with Waianae. The lone road game in that stretch comes on Saturday, when the Trojans visit Aiea in a key contest.

“If we could come out firing, it would be good for us heading into the second round,” Basilio said of the race in the Red West.

The Trojans bring back a veteran team from last season, when they went 7-7 overall, led by seniors Chelsea Basilio (no relation to the coach), Sophie Chang and Glenelle Nitta. The talent pool was sweetened with the return of junior point guard Jordan Sakai to the program this season after having been a member of its varsity team as a freshman in 2006 before spending a year at Thompson Academy. Mililani also will boast arguably the Red West’s top freshman in Darcey Goulsby.

“She can do anything we ask her,” Basilio said.“She brings everything. Her fundamentals are off the charts. We knew of her when she was at Mililani Middle (School), but she had shin splints a lot and could-n’t always play. She got that taken care of during the summer,and during our conditioning, we really noticed how fast she is.”

Future teams may be built around Goulsby, but Chelsea Basilio sets the pace for the current team, according to her coach.“Chelsea has been in mid-season form since Day One of our preseason. She’ll open up some eyes this season. She’s always been good, offensively, but this year she’s been stepping up her defense. We’ve been pushing the defense,and she uses her speed well.”

The Trojans’ most versatile player is Chang, who started as a junior last season.“Her biggest asset is leading by example. She had come in a little rusty, but she’s shaken that off and is leaving everything out there now.”

Sakai has had a solid season managing the Mililani offense, meanwhile, after basically missing all of the 2007-08 OIA season when Thompson Academy, the school she had transferred to as a sophomore, was unable to field a team.

“It was evident in the beginning that she had missed last year,“Basilio said.“Getting back mentally was the toughest for her, but she’s almost there now. She’s the best ball handler that we have.”

Although Nitta is only 5-5, she has played taller at the forward spot, solidifying a place in the starting lineup. “She’s buckled down and learned how to defend on the bottom,“Basilio said of Nitta, who also is a softball standout at the school.

Basilio also sees junior Amber Ogata having an impact before season’s end. She was a starter for the Mililani JV last year. “Offensively, she has it all, and she’s been shooting the lights out.”

Basilio expects the Trojans to be heavily tested by this week’s opponents,Waianae and Aiea.“Waianae is big - they have a lot of post players - so we have to stay out of foul trouble,stay disciplined and box out. I’d say if there was a preseason favorite in our league, it’s Aiea because of the two (Na)tasha’s,“he said of Natasha Fong and Natasha Helsham. “They also hung tough with Kalani.The key is locking down on Natasha Helsham.”