Sabers Build Up New Team
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usCampbell’s role as the mystery team in this year’s OIA Red West girls basketball race is seemingly secure - at least through the first round of the league’s season.
With heavy losses to graduation, opposing teams will be hard-pressed to get a handle on the Sabers’ personnel early on. Indeed, the Sabers are a bit of a mystery to second-year coach Jody Bantolina too.
“We’re going back to a lot of basic stuff right now,” she said. “We have a lot of new girls who have never played (at the varsity level) before, but we have athletes - athletes who are trying to become basketball players. We’re young, but we’re excited.”
Another given for Campbell is its now-customary high-profile, non-conference schedule. By the time of last week’s Red West opener versus Pearl City (a 41-26 loss), the Sabers already had met McKinley, Farrington, Kalani, Seabury Hall, Kamehameha-Maui and King Kekaulike in pre-season games. Games with Radford and Mililani followed closely on the heels of the Pearl City encounter with a big road date with Kapolei set for Wednesday night.
Like Pearl City, Kapolei has several returnees from last year’s team.“They were good last year, and they’re even better this year,” Bantolina said of Kapolei, which is coached by Jesse Baugh. “They have a couple of 3-point shooters, girls who can drive and good post players. They’re good all-around.”
In the all-important area of developing cohesiveness, however, the Sabers get a passing grade from their coach.
“They get along real well - they’re a lot alike, which is very different from our team last year,“Bantolina said.
On a team of still-relative unknowns, senior Jaysha Delizo is the Sabers’ coach on the floor. A starter a year ago at the off-guard spot, she’s making the transition to the point guard spot for 2009-10.
“She’s our leader, mostly,” Bantolina said.“She’s usually been our shooter, so she’s never had to do this (run the offense), but she’s taken on the role and is learning every game.
“She’s very aggressive, offensively and defensively. She can hit the threes, and she’s good at hitting the ones just in front of the (3-point) arc.”
In the post, Bantolina has been encouraged by the play of junior Chantay Samante and sophomore Kassie Ernst. Samante logged her share of starting assignments last year, while Ernst was a regular for the Saber junior varsity team.
“Chantay is good underneath the basket and at getting rebounds,” Bantolina said.“Kassie is a quick shooter - she has a nice quick release, and she’s going to get stronger. Getting the ball into the post is our strength right now.”
As is often the case in mid-December, Bantolina rates her team’s defensive play ahead of the Sabers’ offense. “We’ll rely more on our defense this year - we had more offensive(-minded) players last year. We’re having a hard time scoring right now, but if we can keep learning every day, we’ll be all right.”
Following Wednesday’s game at Kapolei, the Sabers will play Aiea (away Dec. 28) and Waianae (home Dec. 30).
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