“A disaster,” one fan told me. “Marred in controversy,” someone else added. “This was one to forget.” But was it? Sure, we had that whole power-outage fiasco at Bernice Hundley. We had the point-total controversy. We blamed the referees for
“A disaster,” one fan told me.
“Marred in controversy,” someone else added. “This was one to forget.”
But was it?
Sure, we had that whole power-outage fiasco at Bernice Hundley. We had the point-total controversy. We blamed the referees for ruining the season with bad calls. We lost our official scorekeeper, and we had to have Kaua’i’s finest escort players and cheeleaders to and from the games to make sure students and fans weren’t going to throw rocks at them.
Hey, I understand why people say this season was one big mess.
But all that stuff – the nonsense outside the thick black line – isn’t what matters.
– Did anyone see how Kapa’a head coach Michael Ban took a group of guys weak from ailment and distraction and turned them into Warriors again?
– Was anyone there to watch Waimea’s Matt Taba create a machine of a basketball team with just enough grit to stick with it through the end and win a KIF championship?
– Guard Garrett Danner was fun to watch, wasn’t he? The kid critics said couldn’t lead a basketball team nearly handed Kapa’a a championship. Sure, his frustration got the best of him on Saturday, but so soon we forget the unprecedented 32 points he scored the night before.
The defensive efforts of Danner, Kaili Panui, Ed Roessler and Asher Cole (it was sad to see the jaws drop at Clem Gomes on Saturday when Cole walked in with a cast on his arm) is worthy of noting – the trio was a major reason the season was extended one more week.
– Red Raider Lionel Tomacder, probably the most athletic guard in the league, kept Kaua’i in every game throughout the season. Jason Sahara, the lone tower under the Red Raider basket, got a beating inside and often faced pain and injury. But he still played on.
– Waimea’s Winnie Arios kept shooting, missing, and shooting again. He must have been a bit discouraged by his unusually sub-par field goal percentage, but a 19-point finish to seal the KIF crown must have been a bitter-sweet ending for the senior guard.
He was accompanied by Darwin Tutop, Mark Andres and Chesley Barba, who provided the depth and smarts to outlast every KIF team.
– The Big Men in the KIF had a whirlwind of a season. Austin Alquiza missed the first couple of games and was injured in the last, but Taba used guard/forward Desmond Rodrigues to nab the needed rebounds to notch the crown.
Like always, sophomore Jordon Dizon played with maturity – tough, consistent and with a mild temperment (we call that playing smart where I’m from).
Seth Yamamoto, Mr. Fourth Quarter, dealt with a nasty flu and some ankle problems (diagnosis: sprained?) But it didn’t stop him from grabbing game sealing rebounds and throwing up those unexpected treys throughout the season.
Eric Robbins came from nowhere to make a big difference down under for the Warriors. He helped to offset the Menehune big-men and his put-backs were an added bonus to the Kapa’a scoreboard.
All told, this was an incredible season. The extra controversies may have made it a bit more interesting, but all-in-all the boys of winter gave us all one to remember.
