Warriors defeat Waimea in island battleBy JASON GALLIC TGI Sports Editor KAPA’A — On the surface, Friday night’s game between Waimea and Kapa’a seemed as though it would be an indication of things to come in the Kaua’i Interscholastic Federation.
Warriors defeat Waimea in island battleBy JASON GALLIC
TGI Sports
Editor
KAPA’A — On the surface, Friday night’s game between Waimea
and Kapa’a seemed as though it would be an indication of things to come in the
Kaua’i Interscholastic Federation.
With 12 lead changes, and periods of
frenzied basketball, we can only hope.
But in truth, the Warriors’ 56-51
victory at the Kapa’a Invitational truly was just another preseason
contest.
Waimea (0-5) was not at full strength — Austin Alquiza, who
started as a freshman last year, is not yet eligible, and starter Keola
Karratti did not have his jersey — and Kapa’a shuffled players in and out at
breakneck speed.
“We are just trying to get a feel for our team,” Warriors
coach Michael Ban said. “Now we have to go watch the tape and make improvements
that will help us for the rest of the season.”
Eliminating mistakes and
finding a leader surely will be high on the coach’s wish list. Waimea coach
Matt Taba will be asking for the same things.
“We have been making a lot of
errors,” Taba said. “But our boys played hard, all of them, and this is what
preseason is for.”
It’s also for finding bright spots that hold a hearty
helping of potential.
For Kapa’a (3-2), senior Rhyan Greenleaf showed with
a glow Saturday night. The forward finished with a team-high 14 points and six
rebounds. His two freethrows with 10 seconds remaining in the game sealed the
victory.
“Rhyan’s very consistent,” Ban said. “He’s also a great kid to
coach and be around.
“Now, we just need some other players to step up as
well.”
Kapa’a also got 10 points and five rebounds from center Kekoa Chun.
At 6-foot-5, Chun towered over the other players on the floor, and dominated at
times.
“There are things I’ve seen him do that are very impressive,” Ban
said. “He just needs some confidence so he can perform like that all
game.”
Confidence is something Waimea’s Jordan Dizon earned plenty of
Saturday. The freshman, who cashed in on Karratti’s absence, scored 13 points
and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds, including five in the first
quarter.
Eight of his points came in the second quarter. Midway through the
period, guard Nikko Naumu found Dizon with an alley-oop in traffic that the
rookie calmly laid into the hoop.
“That was the kind of [ability] I was
hoping he would have,” Taba said. “He played a great game for us tonight.
Scoring, rebounding, defense, he did it all.”
The Menehunes also got a
solid performance from point guard Winnie Arios. In scoring a game-high 15
points, Arios displayed confident ball-handling ability and a first step no
Warrior defender could catch up to.
But as it was a preseason game, the
contest featured a total of 26 turnovers — 14 for Kapa’a, 12 for Waimea. More
frustrating for the coaches was the fact that the give-aways seemed to come in
bunches.
Each team endured a stretch of four consecutive
turnovers.
“Those are the fundamentals we have to go back and work on,” Ban
said. “We didn’t play as well as I think we can.”
The game was last tied at
47 when Arios drilled a 3-pointer with 4:30 remaining in the fourth.
Then a
frenzied sequence ensued, ripe with turnovers, blocked shots, easy layups
missed and aggressive play. That ended with Chun on the line, where he hit two
freethrows and gave the Warriors a lead they would not relinquish.
Naumu
scored 12 points for Waimea.
Chris Lary and Willie Carollo each scored
eight for Kapa’a.
Staff photo by dennis fujimoto
waimea’s Darwin
tutep goes up for a layup, as Kapa’a’s Rhyan Greenleaf (12, in air) challenges.
Kapa’a’s Willie Carollo (foreground) looks on. The Warriors defeated Waimea
56-51 in a game at the Kapa’a Invitational Saturday night.
