Following a tight opening match against the Flying Hawaiians, the Aiea Blazers lifted off with two convincing wins in the second day of the Merv Lopes Kaua‘i Hoops Classic at the Wilcox Gymnasium on the Island School campus. The Blazers,
Following a tight opening match against the Flying Hawaiians, the Aiea Blazers lifted off with two convincing wins in the second day of the Merv Lopes Kaua‘i Hoops Classic at the Wilcox Gymnasium on the Island School campus.
The Blazers, opening with a 26-22 edge over the Flying Hawaiians, came back with wins of 51-18 against the Westside Basketball and 52-23 against Ho‘ouila.
The win gives the Blazers a 3-0 record, undefeated in pool play.
Hanakila, coached by Philip Baclayon, posted its second win, 45-18 over the Westside Basketball, the North Shore team going on to a pair of summer youth basketball games following its appearance in Puhi.
Hanakila is tied with AAU-Kaua‘i, coached by Clyde Vito and Ipo Yoshioka, with 2-0 records following AAU-Kaua‘i’s 36-20 showing over the Flying Hawaiians.
UpCounty Kings, visiting from Maui, came back from its opening day loss to Hanakila to finish with a 58-41 win over the Flying Hawaiians in the second day of pool play.
Playoffs for the four-day tournament starts at 10 a.m. at the Wilcox Gymnasium at Island School with the championship game tipping off at 2 p.m. There is no fee to view the competition hosted by Team Central Basketball. There is a food booth available.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
