Hanakila Basketball, a program comprised of players mostly from the Hanalei and Kilauea areas, split in the finals of the ZZ Basketball/Rotary Club of West Kaua‘i basketball tournament, Saturday at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center. Tristan Hawelu notched a game-high 15
Hanakila Basketball, a program comprised of players mostly from the Hanalei and Kilauea areas, split in the finals of the ZZ Basketball/Rotary Club of West Kaua‘i basketball tournament, Saturday at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center.
Tristan Hawelu notched a game-high 15 points to lead the Hanakila boys Team II to a 37-34 edge over Team Lihu‘e I in a triple overtime thriller for the championship of the boys division.
Cayson Lalin finished with 10 points to lead the Lihu‘e Team I effort.
Coach Philip Baclayon, the Hanakila head coach, speaking at the 2011 Merv Lopes Kaua‘i Hoops Classic, said this was the third overtime win for Hanakila in three days.
Hanakila’s team, top seeded at the Merv Lopes Classic, finished in third place after edging past the Aiea Blazers, a team visiting from O‘ahu, in a 46-43 overtime win at the Wilcox Gymnasium on the Island School campus in Puhi.
Marissa Martinez, the strong go-to guard, netted a game-high 19 points to lead Lihu‘e Girls Team to a 56-13 win over Hanakila to claim the title in the girls division.
Jaliyan Casem finished with four points to lead the Hanakila girls’ effort.
Lauren Lagoc pocketed 11 points to lead Kaulupono, coached by Bobby Kamakele and Pedro Saligumba, to a 28-4 showing over the Kapa‘a Ballers who got pairs from Alexa Warnock and Jasmin Kaleiohi.
Thomas Yam ended with a game-high 14 points to lead the Kapa‘a Ballers, boys division, to a 27-26 edge over Hanakila Team I for third place.
Dutch Farias, Saber Fairbanks and Kai Maroney each netted six points to lead the Hanakila effort.
Michael Dasalla finished with 10 points, advancing Lihu‘e Team I, boys division, to the championship bracket following a 28-28 stalemate over Lihu‘e Team II in the opener of the final day’s action.
Briggs Agu ended with a game-high 16 points in the effort.
Jeff Venzon, the tournament coordinator for ZZ Basketball, said he appreciated the efforts of the Rotary Club of West Kaua‘i, all of the coaches, volunteers and participating teams for making this three-day tournament a success.
