COMMUNITY > East > Sports

Eastsidaz Gives Magic Touch To Lady Cougars’ Game

Del.icio.us

Chelsy Okuma makes a one-handed attempt at a basket during practice Jan. 6. Photo by Byron Lee, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

First-year head girls basketball coach Simon Bitanga is hoping a little flexibility in his Kaiser High lineup can go a long way for the team in the coming weeks.

“Our strength is that we can run with the fastest or we can match size with size. We’re agile enough, and we can be strong or quick if we need to,” he said.

The Cougars hope to be all of the above this week as they play key games at Waialua Thursday and at home versus league-favorite Kahuku Saturday. A trip to tradition-rich Kalaheo had preceded those games on Tuesday.

“Anytime you play away, you have to go in with your A-game. Every team wants to protect their home floor.”

Coaching changes can often lead to a “transition year” the following season, but in Kaiser’s case, the change has been smooth, as Bitanga is a well-known coach in the community, having founded the club Eastsidaz nearly a decade ago. Highly regarded seniors Chelsy Okuma and Keely Bitanga, the coach’s daughter, both have played for Eastsidaz for several years and have become coaches on the floor for Kaiser in the early-going.

“They work hand-in-hand,” Simon Bitanga said. “We’re still a young team, so we want them to lead. Keely knows the game inside and out, and Chelsy is a very smart player. She always knows what we’re trying to do, and Chelsy never stops. She’s an Energizer bunny.”

Keely Bitanga spent last season at Roosevelt, having transferred prior to her junior year. Like Okuma, she had a stellar season for Kaiser as a freshman, but missed her sophomore season with a torn ACL. Okuma is a versatile all-around athlete, who also is playing soccer this winter.“Sometimes she comes right from soccer and plays a game,” the coach said of Okuma.

With the Cougars expected to have one of the top backcourt tandems on the Island, a big key to Kaiser’s season will likely be how well their supporting cast can come together.

Bitanga is expecting Bailey Miller, Elijah Bowerman, Shelby Pa and Hailey Durham to all have a big impact for Kaiser by season’s end. Miller and Bowerman are both post players who balance out Kaiser’s attack.

“Bailey (Miller) is going to help us out,” he said. “She’s very smart with the ball in the low post, and she can hit the three. Elijah brings some height to the team (at 5-foot-8), and she has a lot of will.”

Among Kaiser’s four preseason encounters was a win over Waialua. The trip to Waialua on Thursday for the only regular-season meeting between the schools would look like a perfect “trap” game on paper, as it comes in between games with Kalaheo and Kahuku.

“We never look past anyone or take anyone lightly,“Bitanga added. “They’re very scrappy. We’ll have to play smart basketball, be aggressive on defense and not turn the ball over, and we’ll be all right.”

Saturday’s matchup with Kahuku could figure equally big in the league race. Although Kahuku’s resume includes an upset loss to Kaimuki, the Red Raiders were without a handful of players, including Nile Te’o for that game.

Kahuku rebounded accordingly last week from that loss to post an impressive 69-56 win over Kalaheo. Eight different Red Raiders scored in that game, led by Jovan Falemalu’s 15 points.

In addition to Nile Te’o, who was one of the top volleyball players in the state last fall, Kahuku also features backcourt talent in Hi’ilei Cummings, Lala Latu and Lama Tito. “Nile brings her mental toughness, and she’s definitely one of our best 3-point shooters,” Kahuku coach David Te’o said of his daughter. “Lala can shoot the lights out, and she’s another tough girl, mentally. She can d-up (play defense) with the best of them, too.”

Hi’ilei is one of our pure basketball girls, along with Rachael,” he added.“She’s our most diverse starter. She can post down low. We can even use her at center. She’s very competitive, and she has high expectations for herself. Lama is like Nile and Lala combined. She’s an aggressive individual who can shoot the lights out and who is mentally tough.”

In the post, 6-foot Adele Schwenke joins Jovan Falemalu as an inside presence. On the heels of Saturday’s game with Kahuku, Kaiser also has games remaining this month versus Leilehua (Jan. 21 at home), Kaimuki (Jan. 23 away), Kalaheo (Jan. 27 home) and Kahuku (Jan. 29 away).