Mustangs Play Well On Grueling Road To State Tourney

Wednesday - March 04, 2009
By Jack Danilewicz
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The Kalaheo boys basketball team’s itinerary over the past few weeks has been akin to that of a college team. They haven’t been traveling out of state, but it must have felt like it at times.

If nothing else, the OIA’s new double-elimination format for its post-season tournament adds up to a lot of extra court time plus a lot of extra driving time for fans. Mustang coach Chico Furtado questions whether the new format is in the best interest of all involved. His team traveled to Mililani, Kaimuki, Campbell and Kahuku for games during the conference tournament.

Had they defeated Kahuku last Wednesday night (they lost 56-43) and moved on to the OIA title game versus Kaimuki on Thursday, the Mustangs could have potentially played eight games in 11 days, said Furtado, assuming they beat the Bulldogs and forced a winner-take-all finale.


 

“I don’t think it helps anybody,” said Furtado, whose team is making its 19th straight state tournament appearance.“Sure,we’ll be battle-tested for the state tournament, but we’ll also all be half dead. Meanwhile, the ILH’s No.1 and 2 teams are sitting at home, resting, practicing and keeping their kids from getting injured.

“I don’t know of any league in the country that is playing a double-elimination tournament in basketball. At some point, playing all of these games cannot be good for your body. You become more susceptible to injury or sickness.

“Of the coaches I’ve talked to, none of them thought this was the way to go - to have more games (for gate revenue). Hopefully, we’re making our goal of making money, otherwise it’s a total loss. When I questioned it, I was told that it was to increase revenue due to budget restraints. I understand the need to increase revenue, but you have to temper that with how all of these games are affecting us.”

The schedule is once again booked this week for the Mustangs, who will play four games in four days. Pairings for the state tournament, which will run Wednesday through Saturday at various sites, were to be released Sunday. Wednesday and Thursday games will be at McKinley and Radford, with Friday and Saturday action shifting to Blaisdell Arena.


The good news for the Mustangs throughout the grind of the OIA Tournament has been the steady play of veterans Richard Preza-Haynes, Matt Gasparine, Christian Kepa and Aaron Fernandez. “I give the kids a lot of credit, especially those four,” said Furtado, whose lineup also includes Shawn Hipa, Carlos Craig, Kona Makaula and Steve Joseph at varying times.

“For the most part,in a 32-minute game, these guys have been playing 25, 26-plus minutes. They’ve been iron men. That is just the way it is. Especially in close games, we’re going to go with our best guys.”

While all four players scored in double figures in the 76-57 win at Campbell last Tuesday, Furtado credited the strong play of Preza-Haynes in the second half with helping push the team across the finish line. “I challenged him a little bit at halftime to be more of a leader, and he stepped it up a notch with his penetration, his scoring and his passing. When we have balance, it makes a big difference because teams can’t concentrate on just one player.”

Furtado also liked their defensive against Campbell, which has a lot of weapons. While they struggled to get out of their own way with a slew of turnovers in the first half, Kalaheo played some of its best basketball over the final 16 minutes.

“When we’re playing at a high level, like we did in the second half of that game, we can compete with anybody. That’s what we’re capable of when guys look for each other instead of themselves. The unfortunate part,” he added with a laugh,“is that we don’t always play at that level.

“When the OIA Tournament ends, we’re going to give the kids a few days off. It’s more important that they be rested.”

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