Hawaii Select Team: Not Too Tall But Loaded With Skills

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If all goes according to plan, the Hawaii Select girls all-star basketball team won’t have to wait until its appearance July 22-26 in the “Main Event” National Basketball Tournament in Las Vegas to face stiff competition.

HS coach Chico Furtado is hoping his team’s participation in Kalaheo’s Lady Mustangs Summer League this month will pay dividends when he takes his team to the Mainland.A year ago, HS completed a perfect 9-0 run in the league in preparing for its appearance in the Main Event, where they advanced to the quarter-finals. This year’s summer league has Punahou I, Punahou II, Iolani, Mid-Pacific and Kalaheo, among others, in addition to Hawaii Select.

“It gives us a chance to play together, which helps to build cohesiveness,“said Furtado, whose team began practice last week.

Trips to Las Vegas have been good to HS in recent years. In 2004 and 2005, Furtado’s teams won the Main Event, while finishing as runner-up in 2006 before being eliminated in the quarter-finals last year.

Should they be in the mix again this year, they’ll likely have to go a different route, with a roster heavy in backcourt players.“We’ll need to do a better job of being more well-rounded,“said Furtado, the current Kalaheo boys coach as well as a former Mustang girls head coach.“We don’t have the overall talent that we’ve had with some of our teams in the past, so we’ll have to see how we develop and make adjustments.

“We have ‘guard/forward’type of players - we may have only one post player on the floor at a time, so we’ll need to get out in the open court and push the ball. Our guard play is our strength.”

Leading the way in the backcourt is the coach’s niece, Pualei Furtado, who enters her fourth season with the traveling all-star team. A Kahaluu resident, she was a First Team All Conference selection for Kamehameha in the ILH last winter and rates as one of the top outside shooters in the state.

“She’s gaining more confidence,” Furtado said.“She ran the point last year at Kamehameha,and she’ll have to play there some for us. She’s continued to shoot the ball real well, and she showed an ability to take the ball to the bucket this year.We’ll have to find ways to get her to the foul line because she shoots well there.”

Furtado is one of six returnees from last summer, joining Kamehameha teammates Lindsey Wong and Kylle Roy, in addition to Natasha Helsham (Aiea), Tanisha Bello (Kamehameha - Big Island) and Kylie Sato, a fourth-year player from McKinley. Violet Alama (Kalani), Keely Batanga (Roosevelt), Brydgette Tatupu-Leopoldo (Farrington), Kamie Imai (Waiakea), Kourtni Thomas (Kalaheo/Kailua) and Jordan Kealoha of Mid-Pacific round out Hawaii Select’s 12-player roster.

While quickness will be among its strengths, size is a concern with only three players above 5-10. “Our biggest concern is making sure we can defend in the post and board,” Furtado said.“Both Violet and Kylle have some experience at this level, so we’re expecting them both to step up. We don’t have the overall size and depth that we’ve had in the past. It isn’t out of the question that we could play a zone (on defense).

“Natasha, Tanisha and Kamie are probably our most athletic kids,” he said. “Natasha can shoot the three, and she has good vision. Kamie is a slasher and a tough kid.”