LIHUE — Kauai High School’s varsity boys basketball team will enter unseeded in the 2019 Snapple Boys Basketball Championships–Division II state tournament.
The seedings and schedules were released by the Hawaii High School Athletic Association on Saturday.
“Really, I got no reaction (to being unseeded). We’re in the state tournament, so I’m not going to argue about seeding,” said Kauai High School varsity boys basketball head coach Ipo Yoshioka on Saturday. “We just need to care of what we need to take care, and hopefully, we get the same result as last year and we move on to bigger and better games this year.”
Kauai High, winner of the Kauai Interscholastic Federation championship, will play against No. 2 seed Farrington High School of the Oahu Interscholastic Association in the quarterfinals. That game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at Saint Francis School in Honolulu.
“They’re guards are just as quick. They’re guards are good,” Yoshioka said of Kauai’s opening-round opponent. “I think it’s going to be a pretty good matchup.”
The Red Raiders were a perfect 12-0 in the KIF regular season, clinching the school’s third consecutive league title and a berth to the state tournament on Feb. 5 in a 57-29 win over Waimea High School.
Kauai completed its unbeaten season on Feb. 7 with a 50-44 win over Kapaa High School.
“It’s credit to the kids. They work hard,” Yoshioka said of this past season. “They know how hard they had to work to get to where they’re at right now. The credit is to them working so hard, believing in themselves, setting their goals and accomplishing it. So, I’m excited.”
In last year’s state tournament, Kauai was 1-2 and placed fourth.
The Red Raiders defeated No. 4 seed Hawaii Prep of the Big Island Interscholastic Federation in the quarterfinals, 53-50. In the semifinals, Kauai lost to No. 1 seed and eventual Division II state winner Saint Francis School of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, 65-42. In the third-place game, Kauai lost to Kalani High School of the OIA, 42-38.
Yoshioka hopes that with a more seasoned team, with players that have been to states before, familiarity means there will be no surprises.
“Being that they’re a little more experienced, they understand how the format goes,” Yoshioka said. “They’re focused on that Thursday night, not on Friday and not on Saturday. We’ll go one game at a time, one practice at a time. And hopefully, the outcomes are in our favor.”
Division II schedule
Thursday’s quarterfinals
Game 1: No. 1 Damien Memorial (ILH) vs. Kohala (BIIF) 7 p.m. at Kalani High School
Game 2: No. 4 Seabury Hall (MIL) vs. Kaiser (OIA), 5 p.m. at Kalani High School
Game 3: No. 2 Farrington (OIA) vs. Kauai (KIF), 7 p.m. at Saint Francis School
Game 4: No. 3 Hawaii Prep (BIIF) vs. University (ILH), 5 p.m. at Saint Francis School
