KALAHEO — He shot. He rebounded. He drove. He fed. And, to cap the evening, he even did a one-handed put-in of an Irah Nishi feed. Va‘afuti Tavana opened up the latest Kaua‘i Youth Basketball Association’s (KYBA) Teen League with
KALAHEO — He shot. He rebounded. He drove. He fed. And, to cap the evening, he even did a one-handed put-in of an Irah Nishi feed.
Va‘afuti Tavana opened up the latest Kaua‘i Youth Basketball Association’s (KYBA) Teen League with a 32-point showing enroute to leading the Southside Boys to a 58-43 win over ZZ at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center.
“He is a special player,” coach Steven Matsumoto said as he watched the Southside center command the Southside five on the court.
As a testament to his abilities, Tavana has been invited to participate with the Iolani High School summer league this summer, Matsumoto said.
Additionally, Tavana will not only be playing basketball for the state high school champions, but has also been invited to play with their volleyball program as well. The summer program will also involve travelling with the Iolani basketball team to a Las Vegas tournament.
Joining Tavana is team mate Josh Bradbury who finished the night with 20 points, combining with Tavana for 52 of the team’s 58-point showing against the ZZ (Lihu‘e Venzon).
Karen Matsumoto, the KYBA coordinator, said the participation in the Iolani summer program means that Tavana makes trips to O‘ahu each weekend to practice with the Red Raiders, leaving on Friday evening and putting in a day’s practice on the basketball court and another day on the volleyball court before returning home to attend his classes at Kaua‘i High School where he is a junior.
Following the two point leaders in the opening game, Eddie Delos Santos added three, Jaron Sit finished with a pair, and a marker from Ross Acoba rounded out the Southside win.
Ryan Cram topped the ZZ scoring with 18 points followed by Amini Ta‘ufo‘ou closing the night with nine points. Garrett Sakimae finished with six points, Brandon Wong added four, and Sam Chung finished with three for the ZZ.
Akeem Allen finished with 16 points, 14 coming in the first half, as the Westside Klowns held off the Hanamaulu Boys, 39-37 in the second contest.
Aaron Hesapene fueled the win with a dozen points followed by Chad Barba adding eight in the win. Brendan McDaniels, aside from adding three points, demonstrated his value on the court by working the inside, and Alden Lahip rounded out the win with a pair.
Roli Sagisi finished with 15 points to lead Hanamaulu with Chris Mundon and Kaupili Akau each adding eight points apiece. Ferdinand Cadiente added six points to round out HB.
Tab Matsumoto fired a late-game trey to pull Kalaheo out of a 25-25 stalemate as shot attempts by Lihu‘e players failed to sink in Kalaheo’s 28-25 win over Lihu‘e (Medina).
Jeremy Manuel contributed 10 points towards the Kalaheo win with Tyler Bare, Chico Santiago, and Shaun-C Banasihan each adding a pair.
Matthew Palaroan topped the Lihu‘e (Medina) scoring roster with 11 points followed by Brandon Ballesteros adding eight. Four from Cheston Balaan and three from Russell Bocalbos rounded out their effort.
