A season hard to describe will come to an end, well at least the regular season, tonight at the Bernice Hundley Gymasium, as Waimea battles Kapa‘a in the KIF girls’ hoops finale. However, the “official” end of the season is
A season hard to describe will come to an end, well at least the regular season, tonight at the Bernice Hundley Gymasium, as Waimea battles Kapa‘a in the KIF girls’ hoops finale.
However, the “official” end of the season is on Monday, with the 2005 KIF championship game between Waimea and Kaua‘i at the Clem Gomes Gymnasium, starting at 7 p.m.
Waimea head coach Elton Montemayor and his assistants, which include his father, Glenn, his sister Kellie, and Waimea standout Ashlee Vea, have their hands full against a red-hot Red Raider squad, who have won four in a row, en route to the second round title.
“They aren’t the defending champions for nothing and we’re gonna have to earn it,” Montemayor said.
The first round champs also head into the title game with three straight losses.
But what could hurt them the most are the absences of three key players in freshman Josey Jacinto, junior Joanna Jacinto, and senior Melissa Moreno.
Joanna and Moreno played key roles for the Menehune during the first round.
Both players will be missed on Monday, however, the youngest Jacinto on the varsity squad, Josey, will be the hardest athlete to replace.
The starting point guard had anchored both the offensive and defensive sides for the Menehune.
Montemayor and Waimea athletic director Jon Kobayashi both have mentioned only that the three players are off the team and won’t play on Monday.
“It’s just part of the game,” Kobayashi said. Meanwhile, Montemayor declined to comment on the situation in detail.
Nonetheless the show goes on for Waimea, who will have to depend on its bench to get them a win against the Red Raiders.
For Kaua‘i and head coach Dennis Aquino, the road to the championship wasn’t as easy as it looked.
“We have a lot of young players on our team and the key was for them to grasp on to our system and I think they were able to do that in the second round,” Aquino said.
Led by last year’s KIF player of the year, Ulu Kelekoma and junior sharp-shooter Rachel Taira, Kaua‘i has turned its season around after a lackluster first round.
It would be unfair not to mention the Warriors, who were a shot or two away from winning a few games and challenging for the title.
Kapa‘a head coach Gary Kodani and his young squad, which conists of just one senior (Samdi Makepa), will be a terrorizing squad next season with a year of tough experience under their belts.
KIF girls’ basketball graduating seniors include, Kapa‘a’s Makepa, Waimea’s Chantelle Briones, Moreno, Jessica Jacinto, Mallorie Hepa, Kaua‘i’s Ulu Kelekoma, Sherri Gebauer, and A.J. Silva.
