Action got underway Thursday for the Volcom Pipe Pro on the fifth of the event’s 13-day waiting period. The 112-man event is the official qualifier for the year-ending Pipe Masters, but a number of Hawaii’s competitors saw their event come
Action got underway Thursday for the Volcom Pipe Pro on the fifth of the event’s 13-day waiting period. The 112-man event is the official qualifier for the year-ending Pipe Masters, but a number of Hawaii’s competitors saw their event come to a quick end on the first day of action.
Kauai’s Stephen Koehne, Chris Foster, Koa Smith and Reef McIntosh all began in the Round of 112, with Koehne and McIntosh each advancing out of their four-man heats. They managed to join Gavin Gillette, Dylan Goodale, Alex Smith and Kaimana Jaquias as Garden Isle competitors in the Round of 96. Ten of 16 second-round heats have been completed with Goodale and Alex Smith surviving to reach the Round of 64. Gillette, Koehne and Jaquias were all eliminated and McIntosh is slated to surf the final heat of the round whenever action resumes. Other big names still to compete in the Round of 96 include Jamie O’Brien, Kekoa Bacalso, Sunny Garcia and Kahea Hart.
Conditions were clean and about head-high Saturday, but event organizers are waiting for what appears to be a larger swell on its way.
STAYING ON OAHU, the UH men’s basketball team had a setback on Friday, dropping a 92-83 contest at home to Long Beach State. Having won three straight Big West games – two of them on the road – the Warriors fell to 14-6 on the season and 3-3 in conference play with their third home loss of the year.
Defensively, UH was unable to contain the scoring of Mike Caffey and A.J. Spencer, who each had career-high performances. Caffey was 10 for 14 from the floor on his way to 29 points, while Spencer went 8 for 10 to notch 24 points.
The Warriors shot the ball relatively well, knocking down 11 3-pointers and shooting 47 percent for the game. But defensively, they allowed the 49ers (8-12, 4-2 Big West) to shoot a whopping 60 percent from the floor with 33 makes on 55 attempts.
An issue in losses continues to be getting big man Isaac Fotu enough quality looks. Fotu is one of the most efficient players in the nation and showed that again on Friday, shooting 8 for 9 on his way to 16 points. But when he’s that hot, Fotu needs to have more than nine shots.
Christian Standhardinger and Garrett Nevels led UH with 18 points apiece, Brandon Spearman had 14 and Quincy Smith added 11 off the bench. Keith Shamburger led all players with seven assists.
The Warriors took on Cal State-Northridge (11-11, 3-4) Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center. Results of that game were unavailable as of press time.
ON KAUAI, there was some intense basketball action taking place in the Kilauea Gym for the county’s winter hoops league. Full disclosure: I coach two teams for the Hanakila basketball club. Most of our games take place down in Kalaheo, but we do have a few in our home gym this season. The crowd was into the action and was rewarded with some great entertainment on this Super Bowl weekend.
In the 11 a.m. contest, the Hanakila fifth- and sixth-grade team came away with a 36-33 win over a very strong Team Lihue A squad. Action was back and forth for all six periods of play, but Team Lihue stole an inbounds pass and raced down for a game-tying lay-up with only 10 seconds to play.
In the end, Hanakila point guard Chanson Hawelu drove towards the paint and kicked an outlet pass to big man Nathan Gardner, who was camped out in the left corner. Gardner, who hadn’t had a shot attempt all game, calmly put up the 3-pointer and banked it in with just 2 seconds to play, setting off an eruption from both the Hanakila bench and a majority of the spectators. As the clock ticked off, Gardner was mobbed by his teammates and Hanakila moved to 3-1 on the season.
Hanakila was sparked down the stretch by the full-court pressure defense of Nahoa Davis and Hero Raza, who also kept the team in the game offensively with some early buckets. Hawelu, Kawai Apana and Jesse Zemmel were key cogs in the full-court press, forcing numerous turnovers and tie-ups.
Keidan Boro-Hashimoto converted three baskets during a key stretch, the recipient of good ball movement when he found himself open around the rim. Jonah Flores showed his usual toughness and “bull in a china shop” style, coming up with a few steals and scoring from the field and the foul line.
Gio Rodriguez, Kamalei Berg and Chris Pangdan anchored the middle and back portion of the zone press, also going toe to toe with the tall Team Lihue front line for rebounds and loose balls.
It was the third consecutive victory for Hanakila, who made their coach super proud – though he still thinks they need to work on their rebounding.
AS A REFRESHER, my official Super Bowl pick is Seahawks 27, Broncos 23. If my previous playoff picks are any indication, the Broncos will probably win 38-10. Enjoy the game and be sure to manage your pupu intake!
• ‘My Thoughts Exactly’ appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays in The Garden Island. Email David Simon your comments or questions to dsimon@thegardenisland.com. Follow David on Twitter @SimonTGI
