Aiea Faces Campbell After A Move Up To DI Basketball

Wednesday - January 14, 2009
By Jack Danilewicz
E-mail this story | Print this page | Comments (0) | Archive | RSS | Share Del.icio.us

Seen here are (front, from left) assistant coach Edgar Pajarillo Jr., Kelsey Suan-Kon, Tiani Hensley, Cheani Manuel, Jaz Savini, Christina Rabanes, Sanoe Hamilton, Shanti Burt, assistant coach Mana Kon, (middle) Kristy Keomalu, Kana Torres, Christine Medeiros, Lacy Manuel, Leanna Pajarillo, Maele Seau, Tanji Naki, Tiffany Trantum, (back) assistant coach Ka’ai Acosta, head coach Nofo Sivini, assistant coach Leroy Hensley, assistant coach Willie Burt, assistant coach Toby Trantum and Edgar Pajarillo. Photo from Edgar Pajarillo.

Aiea’s game at Campbell at 7 p.m. Wednesday may be the first regular-season encounter between the schools in recent memory, given that they were in separate divisions in recent years, yet there can be little doubt that both parties are well-schooled on each other.

That is certainly true for Na Ali’i, whose third-year head coach Wyatt Tau, is currently an offensive line coach on the Saber football staff, having come over with head coach Amosa Amosa when he took the job last winter. It was Amosa whom Tau succeeded as Aiea’s head basketball coach three years ago.

To that end, bringing his Aiea team into Ewa to play Campbell is not exactly a homecoming because Tau is still a visible and permanent fixture within the Saber Nation.

“It’s exciting, and I can’t wait for the game,” said Tau, a 1990 Campbell grad who lives a five-minute walk from the campus.“My kids at Campbell are already talking (trash), although it’s fun stuff - joking kind. They said,‘Coach, are you gonna be green and white or black and orange this week?’ I said, ‘I’m both.’”

Tau and his Na Ali’i team have been in the re-group mode in recent days. Aiea, which moved up from DII to DI this season after winning back-to-back titles, went with only seven players in their OIA Red West opener, an 85-71 loss to defending DI champion Mililani, due to injuries and the absence of a pair of players who were on vacation. Tau had moved up a pair of players from JV during the middle of last week to help bolster his depth in time for last Thursday’s game with Waipahu. Despite a depleted roster of late, Aiea has still maintained its rigid work ethic, according to their coach.

“The kids have been practicing hard, and we just have to keep moving on,” Tau said. “We had hoped to keep that JV team together - they’ve been playing very well - but we’ve moved two of them up, and we need them to step up. It’s a matter of finding the right chemistry now.”

One thing Na Ali’i have found is a point guard. Since earning his first start in mid-December for a preseason game against Kamehameha II, Chucky Kaahanui has made steady progress.

Fellow guard Kory Naeole and senior post player Zack Hannemann also had solid preseasons, while Api Foumai, Dave Supnet, Latupo Faumuina, Michael Hogan, Braxton Fukutomi, Steven O’Meally and Miah Faatoafe are part of the rotation.

Tau also expects Lawrence Lagafuaina and Jasper Hunt to rejoin the team when they return from vacations, but announced that Dalton Alcantra is out indefinitely with an ACL injury.

As his team prepares for Wednesday’s game with Campbell, another point guard is active on Tau’s radar - that of Campbell’s Zach Manuel. “He’s a good ball controller, and he can shoot from anywhere on the court. If we can control him, we control the game.”

The Sabers, who are led by first-year coach Zaricke Jackson, also feature one of the better post players in the West in 6-foot-4 Patrick Ward.“Ward is another big kid who can shoot, penetrate, and he can post-up,” Tau said. “They’re very athletic. Their whole team is talented. We have to control those two.”

Campbell, which is seeking a fifth straight state tournament appearance in February, had an open date on the first night of Red West play. The Sabers weren’t into open league play until last Thursday night when they played Leilehua.

With their rotation far from settled, Tau is hoping Na Ali’i can play an opportunistic game, where they can maximize each possession.

“We have to limit our turnovers and mistakes. They’ll capitalize on every mistake of ours. And we have to work the clock and run our plays and try and get a higher percentage shot. Against Mililani, we were pushing the ball up the floor, but coming up empty.”

Waianae’s Team Topadalyne and its fans have much to celebrate after playing in the 2008 Warriors Holiday Tournament Dec. 19-21. Team manager Edgar Pajarillo (back row, far right) said that through lots of hard work and community support, the girls battled through five games in three days, ultimately going up against team Kulia from Kapolei in the finals at Central Oahu Regional Park. “They gave us a run for the championship,” Pajarillo recalls. “We ended up winning, and that’s how our rememberable weekend finished” - as the ASA 14u fast-pitch softball Division 1 champs.

E-mail this story | Print this page | Comments (0) | Archive | RSS

Most Recent Comment(s):

Posting a comment on MidWeek.com requires a free registration.

Username

Password

Auto Login

Forgot Password

Sign Up for MidWeek newsletter Times Supermarket
Foodland

 

 



Hawaii Luxury
Magazine


Tiare Asia and Alex Bing
were spotted at the Sugar Ray's Bar Lounge