Sabers Keep Basketball Rivals Opponents On Their Toes
By Jack Danilewicz
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You know you have a good team when it’s early November and you’re already guarding against complacency.
Indeed, when Campbell girls basketball coach Nathan Macadangdang and the Sabers begin practice this week in preparation for their 2007-08 season, they will do so as one of the favorites in the Oahu Interscholastic Association’s Division II format - all the more reason for the Sabers to be on guard, given the likelihood that they will be the highlight of every league opponent’s schedule.
That was all but assured last spring, when Campbell finished its best season in years with a relatively young team.
“Even with a veteran team coming back, you can get comfortable with that,” said Macadangdang, whose Sabers finished 14-4 last year en route to their first state tournament appearance in more than a decade. “But there’s a great upside to this team, and we as coaches will have to push the girls even more. We want to improve drastically from last year, even though (it was a good season) ... We have high expectations.”
On that note, a veteran cast should help. The team, which begins preseason play Wednesday with a road game versus two-time defending OIA Division I champion Roosevelt, returns four starters in Amber Kaulia, Vai Confer, Aloha Dias-Kekahuna and Oli Kila. As a group, they offer a combination of athleticism and size that figures to create matchup problems for every opponent. They’ll also have to compensate for the loss of key contributors Jenny Sweeney and Ipo Kila, who completed their eligibility last spring.
Kaulia leads the way. A 5-foot-5 senior point guard, she sets the pace for the Sabers.
“She runs our team,” Macadangdang said of Kaulia, one of Campbell’s captains last year. “She seems really focused and dedicated to taking us further this year. We’ve already seen that in her.”
At 5-9, Confer is also one of the more versatile players. “She can be a big factor in how we do and how far we go,” Macadangdang said.“We’re looking for her to step up her intensity and focus. She’s a great athlete - the part she needs to work on is in being a team leader. We lost a couple of good leaders from last year, so we’re looking at all of our seniors to see who can take their place.”
Macadangdang has always had a defense-first mentality as Campbell’s coach. With that in mind, he looks for senior DiasKekahuna to be one of the leaders on that end of the floor.
“She’s fast and good, defensively,” he said, “and she’s a good rebounder when she puts her mind to it. Offensively, she has a decent outside shot. We’re trying to encourage her to be a little more aggressive with that.”
The lone junior in the projected starting lineup will be 5-foot-8 forward Oli Kila.
“She’s similar to Vai in that she can play multiple positions - guard, forward, small forward,” he said. “She plays with tremendous energy. We put her in and let her go.”
If all goes according to plan, the veteran team should give them a jump-start on their schemes. “Hopefully, the retention is there, and we can review and move on quickly,” Macadangdang said. “It’s always a plus to have veterans back. We have the potential to be a very quick, explosive team. We just have to put it all together. The challenge on my side is to get the girls focused.”
Macadangdang expects the Roosevelt game to be invaluable to his team’s development. The schools have traditionally opened the preseason against each other. In addition to winning the last two DI OIA titles under coach Bobby Keanini, the Rough Riders were also the state tournament runner-up in 2006.
“It’s a good starting point to see where we stand,” Macadangdang said.
Campbell begins its regular season Dec. 18 at home against Myron Thompson Academy.
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