Campbell Girls Basketball Prepares To Take On Kailua
By Jack Danilewicz
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Ramona Takahashi of Kailua coaches her Surfrider team,
which meets Campbell in a key game Friday night on
Sabers’ turf. Photo by Byron Lee, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Should Kailua girls basketball coach Ramona Takahashi ever need a lobbyist, Campbell’s Nathan Macadangdang might qualify.
“Ramona always runs a real good program there,” said Macadangdang, whose Sabers host Kailua at 6:30 Friday night in a key Oahu Interscholastic Association Division II game. “It should be an interesting game. We’re worried about it.”
Both the Sabers and the Surfriders took perfect 3-0 records into the weekend in the White Conference, and Friday night’s encounter at Campbell figures to have a big impact on the league race.
Not surprisingly, both coaches are cautiously optimistic about their upcoming game. That it will be the only regular-season meeting between the schools heightens the importance. Under the current schedule, West teams will meet each other twice this spring, with one game each against East foes Kaiser, McKinley and Castle. Under Takahashi, Kailua has traditionally done well against teams from the West in pre-season, although the Surfriders struggled for years against teams with larger enrollments within their former OIA East format. With their allocation to Division II, however, the Surfriders have become a factor in basketball again.
“It’s more equitable for everyone,” Takahashi said of the Surfriders’ inclusion in Division II.
Kailua has relied on its balance to date with junior Kristen Corrales (11.5 points per game) and sophomores Zsalei Kamaka (13.0 ppg) and Ashley Jacobs (12.5 ppg) all averaging in double figures. Jacobs made four 3-pointers in the Surfriders’ win over Waianae last week, giving her six for the season.
“They complement each other really well,” said Takahashi, who was named the league’s Coach of the Year in 2005, after leading Kailua to wins in six of their last eight en route to a 10-6 record. “The other teams zero in on Kristen. They always know where she is on the court, so it’s nice that the other two are scoring because teams are having to play us more straight up.
“Having that one more year of experience has helped Kristen,” she added. “She got to play with (former standout) Kalina (Kama) when she was a freshman. She’s had good teammates, and she’s been able to develop. Ashley is a natural scorer - she can shoot the ball well - but her biggest contribution has been her ability to play better defense. Zsalei can dribble-penetrate, and she has good range (as a shooter) as well.”
Campbell will counter with 6-foot center Jenny Sweeney, the team’s only returning starter from a year ago. Her rebound-basket with l second remaining drove the Sabers across the finish line in their riveting 53-51 win over Waialua last week. Sweeney’s supporting cast includes junior Aloha Dias-Kekahuna and sophomores Oli Kila and Vai Confer. Macadangdang was still awaiting medical clearance on Confer, so her status for the Kailua game is unknown.
While Macadangdang was pleased with his team’s resolve against Waialua, eliminating self-inflicted wounds remained a priority late last week.
“We’d been trying to convince the girls that when they play smart, and if they can minimize mistakes, they can come out ahead in games like that,” he said. “We put ourselves in a position to win, but we didn’t help ourselves (earlier in the game). Every day we have to work at this.”
Defense has been Campbell’s forte so far this season. The Sabers held both Castle and Kaiser to 36 points before conceding 51 to Waialua, which features one of Division II’s top players in Chesley Ramirez.
“We’ve been stepping up our defense a little bit, especially in the half-court game,” he said,“and our execution has made a difference, offensively. When we keep control of the ball, we have success.”
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