Alexis Pana and her teammates looked right at home in the championship of the Hilo High Holiday Prep Basketball Classic championship, which doubled as a run-and-gun scoring showcase.
Alexis Pana and her teammates looked right at home in the championship of the Hilo High Holiday Prep Basketball Classic championship, which doubled as a run-and-gun scoring showcase.
The 5-foot-10 senior scored 17 points to spark the veteran Vikings over youthful Kamehameha 72-26 on Saturday at Hilo Civic, showing a wide gap between the BIIF’s girls two divisions.
Pana was named the MVP of the tournament. There was no All-Tournament team. If there were, any four of her teammates would have been suitable candidates.
Off the bench, Cherish Quiocho added 10 points and Katie Loeak scored eight points for Hilo, the three-time BIIF Division I runner-up.
Saydee Aganus and Gabriel Victor each had five points for the Warriors, the two-time BIIF Division II runner-up, who have only three seniors in Victor, Caitlin Poe and Kyla Aguiar.
It’s the final season for Hilo’s talented trio of Pana, Sharlei Graham-Bernisto and Shalyn Guthier. They played like there were on a mission, and so did everyone else.
Hilo forced 26 turnovers and had just six giveaways. The Viks outscored the Warriors off turnovers, 23-0.
Despite a limited number of shots because of so many giveaways, Kamehameha had a pretty good shooting night at 42 percent (10 of 24). However, Hilo moved the ball better and converted a lava-hot 70 percent (28 of 40) from the field.
The highlight of the night was not a basket, but rather a missed shot by Graham-Bernisto, who got a steal and went for a layup. A Warrior was in her face, and she did a 360-spin, and hoisted the ball high off the glass. The shot missed but the crowd was thoroughly entertained.
Guthier opened the game with a 3-pointer and Aganus quickly scored.
From there, it quickly turned into a lopsided landslide.
Pana buried two 3-balls, Graham-Bernisto got one trey and the Vikings outscored the Warriors, 23-7, in the first eight minutes.
“Kamehameha is young and we’re seasoned with a lot of veterans. We’ve played together so long that we know each other. Kamehameha is a rising team,” Hilo coach Henry Miranda said. “Lexi stepped up and got all her teammates involved. That’s the key. Overall, we played a good game.”
But more than anything, the biggest difference was Hilo’s athleticism. Kamehameha never had an easy shot. There was always a hand in a Warrior’s face, or a Viking squeezing a defensive vise-grip on a ball-handler.
“That was from our pressure,” Miranda said. “We played a full-court man and tried a zone press to change things up. Everybody was feeling it tonight and were knocking down shots.”
Third place
Honokaa 45, Waiakea 37: Kizzah Maltezo scored 12 points while Kawena Kaohimaunu and Apreal Anasagay each scored 10 points each for the Dragons.
Freshman forward Madison Hwang scored 12 points and Sydney Layaoen added seven for the Warriors.