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The Division I brackets of the Snapple/HHSAA Boys Basketball State Championships were released almost immediately after the OIA finals were completed on Wednesday night. The entertaining Moanalua-Kailua D-I title game concluded at roughly 8:55 p.m. The bracket was released on the HHSAA site before 9:30. How closely did this year’s bracket simulate last year’s pairings? Let’s remember that Kalaheo upset Kahuku in the 2018 OIA championship game, and that has a bearing on the remaining pairings. More so with the […]

Yes, this is a delayed reaction, but it is still sinking in. The St. Francis Saints have closed the book on their only boys basketball season in Division I. News today that the elementary school would also close its doors this spring means there is finality. For the basketball team, 39 games went by like a blur. Injuries. Big wins. Big losses. A steady coaching staff guided the Saints through all of it, and they got better. They evolved. The […]

All of George Weeks’ experience has led up to this point. The Hawaii Baptist boys basketball coach knows the ingredients in his kitchen well. This year’s Eagles do certain things very, very well. They also have certain limitations, and Weeks makes sure they emphasize their strengths. With a 42-34 win over Hanalani on Thursday night, HBA (15-12 overall) is now in the playoff final of the ILH’s second-place tourney. It is, for all intents and purposes, a state-tournament berth tourney, […]

Normally, a blast of cold water would feel great in the sultry confines of McKinley Student Council Gym. Moanalua coach Byron Mello didn’t mind at all. Not after reserve forward Kyle Hughley made the extra effort to grab a water bottle from the bench, and then doused his coach after Na Menehune overcame Kailua 56-49 in overtime for the OIA championship. “That’s what you’ve got to live with, with these guys. Now let’s catch pneumonia,” Mello said. No. 5 Moanalua […]

Two-time reigning ILH champion Maryknoll, the No. 1-ranked team in the state in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser Top 10, is the top overall seed in the Snapple/HHSAA Boys Basketball State Championships beginning on Monday. The Spartans (13-1) won both the ILH regular season and postseason tournament and have advanced to the state tournament in consecutive years for just the second time since they made it five in a row from 1984-88. OIA champion Moanalua is seeded second after making the semifinals […]

Trailing by as many as 14 in the second half against perennial powerhouse ‘Iolani in Division I boys basketball, the St. Francis Saints were a shot or two away from making the state tournament. St. Francis cut the deficit to two in the final four minutes and had three shots to either tie or take the lead. Then they had four different 3-point looks on the same offensive possession to cut the lead to one in the final minute. None […]

The peak is much closer tonight for the Farrington Governors. A 56-43 win over Kaiser on Wednesday night makes Farrington an OIA champion for the first time since 2015, when the Govs won the Division I title. They were designated D-II this season, but that didn’t stop them from beating four Top 10 teams during the regular season. Farrington (15-9) saw their seven-game win streak to start the year end at Kaiser on Jan. 23. The Cougars’ sophomore sensations, Kenji […]