Cougar Hoops Shine Bitanga Bright

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Sometimes what you don’t know can’t hurt you,so they say.As a freshman starting on varsity this spring, the innocence that Keely Bitanga brought to the Kaiser basketball team was akin to a fresh trade wind.

Indeed, it wasn’t until well after she helped drive the Cougars across the finish line in their stunning 53-49 win at Kahuku April 4 that she realized what she and her teammates had accomplished. Kahuku hadn’t lost a regular-season home game in over two years.

“I didn’t know anything about them,” Bitanga said of the Red Raiders.“I wasn’t familiar with them at all. I was more familiar with Kalaheo and Roosevelt.”

Kaiser had enjoyed a pair of stellar seasons the past two years under Lisa Mann, placing third and second, respectively, in the OIA as well as earning two state tournament berths. Only a victory over Kahuku, which won OIA titles in 2004 and 2005, had eluded the Cougars during their impressive run - until April 4, anyway. That’s when the team posted one of the true upsets in girls hoops in 2006. Bitanga was the catalyst that night, scoring a team-high 18 points, while battling against one of the league’s top players in Red Raider guard Artevia Wily.

“She drove on us at will, and the more she made, the more confident she became,“Kahuku coach Val Anae said.

As Bitanga enters summer,she has already established herself as one of the state’s top newcomers in girls prep basketball, with three years of eligibility remaining. Her development will be a key to Kaiser’s future basketball prospects, especially with five teammates graduating this month, including Sharde Pratt, one of the state’s top players in each of the last three seasons.

THE BITANGA FUN FILE

Full Name: Keely-Marie
Kalikolehuaowauala Bitanga

Family: Mother, Lei; Father,
Simon; Sister, Micaela;
Grandfather, Kenny.

Hobbies: “Going to the beach,
shopping and hanging out with
friends.”

In 10 Years I Will Be:

“Pursuing a career in basketball
- as a player or coach - and
then I hope to be a dentist.”

Favorite Food: “Everything
tastes good to me.”

Favorite Entertainer: “I like
all kinds of music.”

Favorite Movie: A Walk To
Remember

“I have a lot to work on,” said Bitanga,who was named to the East’s Honorable Mention team last week. “My defense ... I really need to work on that, and I need to work on my ball handling, too. I need to work on all of my skills, especially my free throw shooting ... Oh, my free throw shooting!”

Bitanga will play this summer for the Eastsidaz Club team, which is coached by her dad Simon.Eastsidaz go to Las Vegas next month to play in a national tournament. Bitanga also went to Nevada last summer to compete for Kalakaua,which placed first in a similar tournament. It was her first experience against Mainland teams.

“They were bigger than I expected,“laughed Bitanga, who is 5-foot-1.

Even Mainland competition couldn’t entirely prepare her for the experience of being a 14-year-old playing in the ultra-competitive OIA East this past season, however.

“I was really intimidated by the older girls at first - I wasn’t sure what to expect.I’d played against the older girls before, and they all had more skill and experience than me, so I had to try and step it up to give my team a chance to win. I was OK with it. I tried to play my game.”

Bitanga is a point guard,but began her career with her back to the basket as a post player.

“I was one of the bigger kids when I started playing at age 10,“she said. “Then everyone around me grew and they began to tower over me, and I stayed the same size.”

Bitanga has also played soccer and softball in the past, but will not continue with softball next winter after an eye injury suffered at Castle last year prompted her to have surgery.

“I don’t want to have anything like that happen again, but I’ll play soccer because it will help to take my endurance to a higher level.”

Although basketball is her favorite activity now, it wasn’t always. She credits a supportive family with helping her development.

“I was more into soccer at first,” she said.“As I learned my skills more, I began to enjoy it more. My dad had played basketball (at Kaiser) and my grandfather is my biggest supporter, and they signed me up with the Kalakaua Foundation. That really helped me in basketball.”

On game nights at Kaiser,Bitanga can count as many as 11 family members among the crowd, and even more including friends and extended family.