It’s been four long years since the Red Raiders posted a win against the Menehune in KIF basketball. For some of the Kaua‘i players, it has been too long, but for others, the success they enjoyed in football and volleyball
It’s been four long years since the Red Raiders posted a win against the Menehune in KIF basketball.
For some of the Kaua‘i players, it has been too long, but for others, the success they enjoyed in football and volleyball has to give them some sort of confidence going into tonight’s game against the 4-time defending champion Menehune squad.
“They’re excited for this game and so am I, we haven’t won anything yet and we have the players from volleyball and football who have beaten Waimea,” Kaua‘i head coach Brandon Fujita said.
On the Menehune side, they’re glad to be home for their first game of the KIF season, against a tough and talented Kaua‘i squad.
“We’ve got to handle their pressure and play a real controlling game to come out on top,” Waimea head coach Elton Montemayor said.
Kaua‘i played with one hand tied behind its back on Tuesday night against Kapa‘a. With senior center Futi Tavana and junior shooting guard Josh Bradbury seeing limited action, the Red Raiders still had enough fire power to post a win.
“We missed over 20 free-throws and we didn’t shoot well from the field as well, but we actually haven’t been all together playing as a squad yet,” Fujita said.
Even senior guard Jeremy Manuel had a rough first game, not playing up to his player of the year potential.
Out for at least tonight’s game is senior guard Lance Okasaki, who sprained his ankle in practice on Wednesday.
But Tavana, Bradbury, and Manuel, Kaua‘i’s triple threat should be up to full-speed for this evening’s match against the Menehune.
“Josh has recovered from the flu and Futi has been practicing, so they’ll be seeing a lot of action,” Fujita said.
Tavana, who went to the mainland for a family trip, missed practice days for Kaua‘i, thus missing a good chunk of action the Kapa‘a game on Tuesday.
The key for Kaua‘i is to stay focused and get back to the basics.
Head coach Brandon Fujita has all the confidence in the world behind his squad.
“It doesn’t matter if we win by one, two, or 10 points, we just have to come away with a win against them (the Menehune) and I’m behind them 100,” Fujita said.
Meanwhile, Waimea has to remain confident despite being overmatched with a Kaua‘i squad loaded with talent.
“There’s no way we can stop both Futi and Jeremy, we just have to contain them and not let them dominate,” Montemayor said. With his first game at the helm of Menehune basketball, Montemayor is excited about the challenge ahead of him.
