Hawaii Basketball

Well… just as suspected, the BIIF actually did deserve more respect than the the HHSAA seeding committee gave them. Despite a unblemished 15-0 record and a #1 ranking in recent polls, the Konawaena Wildcats were snubbed by the HHSAA in favor of the Roosevelt Rough Riders who at 14-1 were awarded the #1-seed over the BIIF champion. Though the Rough Riders were surely among the top contenders for the title, their loss to Kahuku should have given Konawaena the edge when it came to seeding. Even Roosevelt head coach Bobby Keanini questioned the decision, saying “We’re seeded 1? How did they come up with that? Konawaena and Iolani, they deserve their respect.”

The only teams remaining are from the BIIF and the ILH. Each one of the six OIA teams has been eliminated, including #1-seed Roosevelt who fell to the Honokaa Dragons 53-45 behind 31 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists from superstar guard Keisha Kanekoa. The Dragons will face Punahou tomorrow in one semifinal as the Buffanblu were able to defeat the #4-seed Lahainaluna Lunas 66-47, forcing 40 turnovers in the win.

In the other semifinal, the #3-seed Iolani Raiders will face the #2-seed Konawaena Wildcats in a matchup of the top teams from the ILH and BIIF. The Raiders advanced to the semifinals by defeating the Radford Rams 50-39 despite a 22 point, 21 rebound perfomance by Radford freshman Ta Nitra Byrd while the Wildcats opened up an early lead and held on for a 58-46 win over the Kalani Falcons.

The Final Four - Matchup Analysis:
(Games on Thursday, May 17 @ Stan Sheriff Center)

Konawaena Wildcats vs. Iolani Raiders - 6:00pm
In a matchup of the BIIF champion and the ILH champion, consistency will be the key. The two teams are fairly evenly matched, both able to execute their sets with precision. The game will likely be won by the team that’s more efficient on the offensive end and can keep its star out of foul trouble.

Iolani Gameplan: The Raiders will be looking to throw the ball inside to center Jaime Smith early with the hope of getting a few easy baskets and establishing their inside game. If successful, Kona will be forced to help down, opening up the Iolani guard for shots later in the game. On the defensive end, the Raiders will try to contain Wildcat star Jazzmin Awa-Williams and get a hand up on the Hanato-Smith sisters to prevent open looks from three-point range. Though the slow game may be in their favor, don’t be suprised if the Raiders try and push the ball in transition to take advantage of their conditioning and deep bench.

Konawaena Gameplan: The Wildcats will do their best to increase the tempo and get open looks in transition. They will also need to cut down on their turnovers and execute their offense to create easy opportunities when in the half court setting. On defense, the Wildcats will need to contain Jaime Smith both on the block and on the boards to prevent easy opportunities from close range.

Honoka’a Dragons vs. Punahou Buffanblu - 8:00pm
Though this may seem like a matchup of bridesmaids with the #2 teams from each league facing each other, don’t be fooled. Both the Buffanblu and the Dragons are more than capable of walking away with the 2007 Hawaii State Championship if given the opportunity. They will each try to impose their style of play on the other as this second semifinal will be a matchup of a superstar vs. a team. Not that the Dragons aren’t team-oriented, but their success relies heavily on the performance of star guard Keisha Kanekoa. Punahou, on the other hand, probably has no “all-state” players and relies on every player to make a contribution. This will be interesting…

Punahou Gameplan: The Buffanblu will be looking to do what they’ve done all season. Pressure and force turnovers. They will be rotating players in at nearly every dead ball to hopefully wear Honoka’a out and force the action for 32 minutes. It’s that simple.

Honoka’a Gameplan: Whatever they plan to do, the Dragons will need to handle Punahou’s traps and pressure in order to be succesful. Kanekoa will need to take charge on the offensive end as both a ball handler and a scorer. Their offensive efficiency will end up being their best defense as Punahou tends to struggle when they’re unable to get points off of turnovers.