LIHU‘E — The Westside Bajingas, primarily Waimea High School players under coach Brandon Moises, were on the losing end of two games Thursday when the 4th Annual Merv Lopes Kaua‘i Hoops Classic opened at Island School. Playing in the D2
LIHU‘E — The Westside Bajingas, primarily Waimea High School players under coach Brandon Moises, were on the losing end of two games Thursday when the 4th Annual Merv Lopes Kaua‘i Hoops Classic opened at Island School.
Playing in the D2 Girls bracket, the Bajingas dropped the opening match 19-15 to Kaulupono, another Westside girls team under coach Bobby Kamakele, before being overtaken by CitySide, 43-25.
Pool play continued Friday, the Bajingas moving to the Kaua‘i High School gym where they faced the Kaua‘i Ballers in a highly-defensive afternoon opener, the Bajingas holding a 10-7 lead at the half.
The Kaua‘i Ballers, made up of a lot of Kapa‘a High School girls with the addition of Joy and Lauren Claypoole from Island School and coached by Cecil Gee, dropped its sole opening day match 51-20 to CitySide who went on to hand the Bajingas a loss at the Island School Wilcox Gym for its 2-0 opening day record.
The Dream Hoops Elite hold the overall lead with a 3-0 record after handing Hanakila, coached by Phil Baclayon, a 51-31 loss and moving on to get past Central, 71-37 in D2 action before ending with a 61-45 win over Imua, all games at the Island School Wilcox Gym.
The Maui Mayhem, playing in the D2 Girls division, ended 1-1 with a 51-13 win over the Kamikaze before dropping to the Lady Raiders 28-24 in the nightcap.
Westside, playing in the D2 Boys division also split in its opening day, taking a 43-34 win over the UpCountry Kings-Black, but falling short against the UpCountry Kings-Red, 58-15.
The D1 boys’ Central opened with a key 57-41 win against the Aiea Blazers at the Kaua‘i High School gym with the UpCountry Kings ending the day on a 45-37 win over the Goblins.
Pool play continues through Saturday with the elimination and bracket rounds being played Sunday.
Visit www.tcb808.com for full tournament schedules and scoring updates.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
