ILH basketball is on hold.
The official schedule on the Interscholastic League of Honolulu schedule shows the strikethroughs on varsity girls basketball games through Jan. 8.
Boys games have not been postponed in the ILH yet. The boys regular season is still slated to begin on Jan. 10.
The changes were made as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the ILH site. An emergency meeting for athletic directors was called prior to that. Longtime ‘Iolani girls basketball coach Dean Young weighs the situation with concern.
“I think it’s good to allow teams to recover from the initial holiday surge of COVID cases, but it’s worrisome that any postponement could lead to discussions of cancellation, which would be absolutely tragic,” he said. “Especially for this year’s seniors who didn’t have a season last year.”
The ILH’s regular-season postponement doesn’t mean preseason/exhibition basketball games are on the fritz. The Punahou Invitational boys tournament is set to begin today (Wednesday) after being postponed on Monday. Punahou coach Darren Matsuda said there will be no spectators in the gym, but a live stream will air on the school’s YouTube page.
“We’re set to go for today,” Matsuda said.
He noted that one game, Kaiser-Saint Louis, has been cancelled.
A Kamehameha-Damien preseason game is still a go for this afternoon at the Lady Monarchs’ gym. No spectators are allowed and the game will be live streamed.
“Luckily, they’re letting us keep this game,” Damien coach Mark Arquero said.
As of Wednesday morning, there are no official changes to the Oahu Interscholastic Association girls and boys basketball schedules. The OIA girls basketball regular season began last Thursday.
“I know the OIA are playing games. Other ILH schools are still playing preseason games,” Maryknoll girls basketball coordinator Chico Furtado said. “Delaying the start of the season for a week will put more time between the first game and the holidays. Will that better the situation? COVID is not going to disappear. It will still be here in mid-January. Hopefully, the cases will start to lessen. The challenge is to find ways to continue with life’s activities as safely as possible and base decisions on what the medical science profession is telling us.
“I realize that there are no easy answers, but we cannot allow fear to drive the bus.”
Soccer in the ILH appears to be on track. The varsity girls soccer schedule has no change to its opening date, Jan. 5. The varsity boys slate is still Jan. 12 for opening day.
Punahou Invitational
Wednesday’s games
Noon ‘Iolani vs. Leilehua
1:30 p.m. Punahou II vs. Mid-Pacific
3 p.m. Kamehameha vs. Kalaheo
4:30 p.m. Saint Louis vs. Kaiser, cancelled
6 p.m. Punahou vs. Moanalua
Thursday’s games
Noon Mid-Pacific vs. Kaiser
1:30 p.m. Punahou II vs. Kamehameha
3 p.m. ‘Iolani vs. Moanalua
4:30 p.m. Saint Louis vs. Kalaheo
6 p.m. Punahou vs. Leilehua
THANK YOU! Coach Chico Furtado for speaking the Common Sense TRUTH about Covid.
I wish more people who are SUPPOSEDLY in charge would use common sense and admit Covid ain’t going anywhere, anytime soon!
If you’re going to postpone/delay the season with vaccinated players, you might as well cancel the next 3 seasons while they find a cure….SMH