Coach Furtado: Making The Good Parts Work Together
By Jack Danilewicz
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While Kalaheo’s opponents at this week’s OIA Tournament may have a few extra wrinkles in store for them, it’s hard to imagine the Mustangs being fazed by much of anything, given their recently completed season.
After all, with a steady stream of close encounters to date, they may be the most battle-tested team in the state.
“I think we won two games comfortably all year,” basketball coach Chico Furtado said.“We won our last four games, but we could have lost them all.We’ve been on a roller coaster ride. We’ve had good quarters and good halves, but I don’t think we’ve played a complete game yet. Twenty-one games in (including the pre-season schedule), we’re still a work in progress.”
They finished their OIA Red East slate at 8-4, which earned them the No. 3 seed in the East behind Kaimuki and Kahuku for this week’s conference tournament. Pairings were to be finalized over the weekend, although all signs pointed toward Kalaheo hosting Aiea, the West’s No. 6 seed, in a game on Wednesday night. While the OIA Tournament has switched to a double-elimination format, teams must make the quarter-final round to remain in contention for a berth at next month’s Division I State Basketball Tournament. The top five finishers in the OIA make the state tourney, so Wednesday’s game is a “must win.”
For their part, while the team has endured more close games than in most seasons, the Mustangs have shown the ability to come up big at crunch time, a good sign for a team entering the post-season where there’s little margin for error.
“One thing that’s been evident these last four games is that when we’ve pressed with urgency, we’ve made the plays and made the stops,” Furtado said.“That’s encouraging. The kids are battling through. As a coach, you appreciate their grit.
“Now,” he added with a laugh, “we’re trying not to put ourselves in that position in the first place. At some point, you’ll come up short, and we have.”
Kalaheo, which has made the state tournament each of the past 18 years, has had six days off between their regular-season finale - a 57-54 win at Moanalua last week - and Wednesday’s first-round playoff game. As in the regular season, their starting lineup will feature Richard Preza-Haynes, Christian Kepa, Aaron Fernandez and Matt Gasparine, with the fifth spot depending on who they are playing. Kona Makaula, Carlos Craig, Steven Joseph and Shawn Hipa also are part of the rotation. Hipa is recovering nicely from a knee injury and could be more available in the post season, according to Furtado. Hipa’s younger brother, sophomore Shane Hipa, has also had an impact for the Mustangs after being moved up from the junior varsity a couple of weeks ago. He came off the bench to hit three 3-pointers in the Feb. 5 win over McKinley and gives the Mustangs another outside threat to go with an already veteran back-court.
“We have the pieces to be a good team,” Furtado said. “We have an inside-outside attack. Matt and Chris can both be dominating inside. Aaron can shoot the ball. Richard attacks the basket and uses his quickness and athleticism.
Any given game, depending on matchups, we have some options. We just have to play with consistency. When we have a tendency to play unfocused and as individuals, we’re just four pieces working independently.”
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