Photo courtesy of Chico Furtado
Closing the Book: No. 4 Maryknoll (19-8, 7-5 ILH)
vs. Top 10: 13-8 (.619)
Top 10 wins: LAH, KAH, KS, Yucaipa (Calif), KS, KS, PUN, IOL, KS, PUN, KS, KK, LAH
Top 10 losses: KON, PUN, IOL, PUN, IOL, IOL, IOL, KAH
Non-Top 10 losses: None
Playoffs: 1-1
HHSAA: 3-1
Closing the Book: No. 4 Maryknoll (19-8, 7-5 ILH)
vs. Top 10: 13-8 (.619)
Top 10 wins: LAH, KAH, KS, Yucaipa (Calif), KS, KS, PUN, IOL, KS, PUN, KS, KK, LAH
Top 10 losses: KON, PUN, IOL, PUN, IOL, IOL, IOL, KAH
Non-Top 10 losses: None
Playoffs: 1-1
HHSAA: 3-1
A team with one senior doesn’t usually win a state title or even reach the semifinal round.
Maryknoll wanted it all, however. Only one team, eventual repeat state champion ‘Iolani, beat the Lady Spartans in the final three weeks of ILH play.
It was a season of twists and turns. The Lady Spartans saw their top returnee, Jalen Tanuvasa, transfer to Las Vegas. They struggled though the first stretch of the ILH regular season, going 1-3. After a mainland trip, winning the Glendora (Calif.) tourney title, Maryknoll was reborn. The Spartans won seven of their next nine ILH games, beating No. 1-ranked ‘Iolani.
The ILH runners-up lost to Kahuku in the state semifinals during a week of misery. The flu bug caught up with Maryknoll, which faced a tough and talented foe. The Spartans won the third-place game a night later, beating Lahainaluna. Aloha Akaka (No. 7) and Serenity Moananu (No. 9) were voted by coaches and media to the Star-Advertiser All-State Fab 15.
“As a team, I’m happy and proud of how we developed all year. We lost one of the top point guards in the state and we had to reinvent ourselves,” longtime coach Chico Furtado said. “Kira (Kaopua) wasn’t ready to play point guard full time, and we had to move our best vertical athlete (Aloha Akaka) to the point. I want her flying up the floor when we get the rebound, but we had to put her in a position to use her vision and make decisions.”
Furtado often expresses delight with the group he coached this season.
“That trip to California really brought our kids closer. When we got back, we were a different team. We didn’t lose to Punahou again, didn’t lose to Kamehameha, and lost to ‘Iolani one time,” he said.
This season was ________.
Furtado: “Up and down. We started out a little rough, 1-3 before our trip to California. That’s the down part. Then we come back and win six out of seven. That’s the up. We battled out way to state and we don’t get out of the quarters.”
This season was the movie ________.
Furtado: “Facing the Giants. It's a story ofa football team facing great odds and coming through as winners on and off the field due to their belief in God and each other. The only difference is they won the state championship."
Review: Starters and key rotation/role players:
Aloha Akaka, 12 points per game, No. 7 All-State Fab 15, No. 7 All-Defense
Furtado: “She did everything well. She’s well-rounded, so gifted athletically. I just love her temperament. She doesn’t get flustered, even when she makes mistakes. I really admire that about her. Just being the athlete that she is, whether we need good defense, scoring, a big rebound, free throws. We had a game against ‘Iolani when she made six in a row. She kind of has done it all for us and we’re going to need that one more time.
“I think she needs to work on her perimeter ball handling skills, get more confident in that. She’s come a long way running the point. When she’s facing hard ball pressure by some of the better teams, she gets a little tentative. That being said, you know how summers go. It’s kind of a different game. We’re going to have to do some individual things. Maybe get Nikki Fu back out there, Rhianne Omori. Hopefully, when we get back int he gym after all this craziness is done, I want our team to go up against alumni. They don’t want to be showed up by the younger kids.”
Serenity Moananu, 8 ppg, No. 9 All-State Fab 15
Furtado: “She had some big games for us. She’s strong as a beast in there. She can get her numbers down there. Her percentages from five, seven feet in, I’d like to see that higher. Serenity needs to keep getting better at being a consistent finisher around the bucket. I don’t know if it’s rushing, or because she’s a little undersized and worried about getting blocked. She really made a move forward as becoming one of the best players in the state.”
Mahalo Akaka, 9 ppg, All-State honorable mention
Furtado: “All the areas of leadership, she’s on it. Works hard, real good with our younger players, both her and Mahalo. They’re special kids. They’re not glory kids. It’s water off a duck’s back with her. She’s so valuable to us.
“She just needs to continue growth in her overall confidence. Sometimes Mahalo, I get this impression that she’s not confident in being the go-to person sometimes. She has all the ability Aloha has athletically, bigger physique, strong around the bucket. Her and Serenity are clone-ish, both can shoot the perimeter shot. I just want her to be a little more confident whether it’s a set play, that she relishes that and becomes confident in assuming that role.
Lily Koki, 6 ppg
Furtado: “She did a good job this year. I like her toughness. One thing she really works hard on is getting after offensive rebounds. She’s not big or tall, but she finds a way. She has a nose for the basketball, and around the basket, she’s a tough kid. It’s finding that balance for her.”
“A little bit inconsistent. I would like her to become a little better defender. She’s stuck between two positions. We’d like to run her at the 2, but sometimes she has to be a 3. Almost a smaller version of Serenity. Sometimes coming off the bench, maybe she feels like she’s got to do more and she presses, but she’s as athletic as anybody we have. She’ll have a chance to fill that starting spot with the graduation of Kyla Neumann. Good kid, works hard.”
Kyla Neumann, 7 ppg
Furtado: “Kyla kept us in games sometimes with that 3-point shot. That game we beat Kamehameha to get in the state tournament, she made six of them, I believe. Her 3-point shooting is what she brought to our team. This was her best year shooting the ball. She was confidence. There was no doubt.
“Be a better passer, better ball handler, better defender, you want all that, but no mistake about it, Kyla’s 3-point shot kept her in the starting lineup.”
Taimane Faleafine-Auwae, 4 ppg
Furtado: “Taimane had a good year for a freshman. We’re trying to get her to be a little more rangy. She’s got that spin move, but at 6-1, she dominated drop-stepping to the bucket when she was younger. We’ll drill that into her game.
“I was hoping for a little more from her offensively, especially cutbacks, but she served the purpose we needed. Basket protector, blocking shots, rebounding. That part of it, she did fine. As much as you think you dominate seventh and eight grade, you come to Maryknoll and play ‘Iolani, Kamehameha and Punahou, the speed is something you have to learn. You’re not going to sit on the bench. It was a good year, a learning curve and moving forward, we need her to own the paint. Have that mentality that this part of real estate is yours. The physical part, positioning yourself so you can block the shot without fouling, all that stuff will improve.”
Reserves
Kira Kaopua
Kira plays hard. No doubt, she had a better year than her freshman year, and I expect her to have a better year next year.
We’re trying to get her confident in her shot. Everything is to her left side to the bucket. She hasn’t improved that right hand enough to become well-rounded. Just getting her to play under control sometimes. Sometimes she leaves her feet.”
Mahealani Choy Foo
Furtado: “What she has to offer is still very well protected. She’s athletic, shoots extremely well, nice first step to the bucket. But she’s not comfortable doing those things especially against the better teams. She had five 3s against King Kekaulike in Blaisdell. Is their defense not as intense as ‘Iolani, Kamehameha, Punahou? We need her to be confident in pulling the trigger when you have that narrow window against tough D. She’s young, came to Maryknoll and really didn’t play at this level of intensity.
“The spring sports guys, I feel bad for them. Their seasons might be lost. We were supposed to be in the weight room starting in mid-March. When this gets cleared up, hopefully summer leagues aren’t affected, but this thing is so progressive. We don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m trying to stay in touch and make sure we all stay safe.”
Brandie Tobin
Furtado: “She had a great year. She needs to be a little more effective on offense, finish and hit the 12-, 15-footer. She’s going to be a senior. I told her, your court time is going to depend on those things. She’s a great defender, steps in and takes charges, rebounds. All those things she did a great job off the bench.”
Did the rotation change?
Furtado: “It was pretty much the same. Our starting five never changed. Lily and Brandi were first off our bench, always. When Taimane got hurt, Brandi started for her. One game, somebody was sick and Lily started.”
What or who surprised you most?
Furtado: “The cohesiveness of our team, the closeness, I don’t know if it surprised me, but I was very pleased with that. The year before, we were fragmented, as good as we might have been. A little young and a ball-dominant player who didn’t know how to involve everyone else in the system. That’s not Jalen’s fault. That’s just the way things developed. Serenity, Aloha and Mahalo get credit for a lot of that. They made the team a fun and welcoming place for our girls come and practice and play. I’ve had more fun this past year with this team that I had when we had teams that were hunted.”
What were the most adverse challenges?
Furtado: “I guess playing that schedule. That was the most challenging thing. At one point, we played six games in seven or eight days. Because of a four-team league and the rapidness of the games, maybe because we don’t play between Christmas and New Year’s, when you come back, if you blink, season’s over. Game, practice, game, practice, game, practice. Sunday, and then a game. State tournament, we had four days without a game, we didn’t know what to do with ourselves. The timing, take nothing away from Kahuku, they played really well, but not having our team 100 percent was unfortunate for us, that they couldn’t be at their best. You’re in a premier game and you’re wondering if your players are going to throw up on the court.”
What are you anticipating for offseason and next season?
Furtado: “Intermediate, not a whole lot. Our JV team was pretty young. Our talent was ninth grade. Really no major, significant people. We brought Kiara Fuller up. She didn’t play sophomore year, so she was on JV and led them to a the championship. She’ll get a shot this year getting playing time.
“Kiani Hoolulu (transfer) will be a freshman guard for us next season. She has good ball skills, a strong body and is a great perimeter shooter. She will compete for immediate playing time.
"The rest coming up, we’ve got some prospects, but we’re going to take a closer look. As far as new kids coming into the school, not sure. Again, with this coronavirus craziness, the pace of everything has slowed down.
What does the ILH gauntlet look like next season?
Furtado: “If we have the same returnees, we’ll battle. ‘Iolani’s going to be very good again. Kamehameha’s losing some. Punahou’s got everybody back. And us.
It’s unlikely Mid-Pacific, Hanalani, Damien or HBA would move up from Division II.
Furtado: “It’s going to be four teams unless the league forces their hand with some kind of classification change, I don’t see that happening.
Is there a possibility of that overlapping schedule in the first round between D-I and D-II with those interdivisional games not counting in the standings?
Furtado: “Hopefully, they agree to that. So that way we can play two rounds and use those games to increase playing time for our bench.”
If (former Kalani guard) Kalena Halunajan goes to Damien, as expected, would they consider moving up?
Furtado: “Maybe, but I doubt it. Take nothing away from Hanalani, Damien and the other D-II teams, there’s nothing like ILH D-I. Top to bottom it’s the toughest league.
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