Aukai Wong took the opening tip for Hilo and went to work. He made Hilo’s first basket, grabbed its first rebound and drained its first 3-pointer.
Aukai Wong took the opening tip for Hilo and went to work. He made Hilo’s first basket, grabbed its first rebound and drained its first 3-pointer.
He was as omnipresent as you would expect a pro basketball player to be in a tournament like this.
Wong also got help when he needed it.
Buddies Jason Mandaquit and Jordan Flores made big shots as well Monday at Panaewa covered courts, and Hilo Man-Up went on to win its annual battle against Iolani, 56-53 in overtime, owning bragging rights at the Alumni Basketball Tournament for the third consecutive year.
“It’s a fun tournament,” Wong said. “A bunch of really good players, so we try to get everyone involved.”
The 2005 Hilo graduate isn’t just playing to rekindle his glory days and stay in touch with the game. He’s also trying to keep his skills sharp and sprinkle in some positive public relations as he gets set to take the court later this year with the ABA’s Hawaii Hammerheads. They open their season in November and play their first game on the Big Island in January.
“I’m just competing, but I want to make sure I do well to try to get the people to look forward to what is coming with the Hammerheads,” Wong said.
It was no surprise that Hilo and Iolani met in the final of the seventh annual tournament. Hilo claimed its fourth title and Iolani owns the other three, and Sunday’s game was more of a friendly yet well-played pick-up game than a grudge match.
Mandaquit is also a tournament organizer, and after his sixth game in three days he was ready for pau hana.
“The good thing is, especially when we first started, Iolani really helped us by coming over, and it gave Big Island teams more interest,” Mandaquit said. “We’re all friends and we hang out. A lot of us are looking forward now that we get to go to the beach. We’re like lets hurry up and get this (game) done.”
The Hilo alum might have been out the door sooner, but he and Flores hit 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as Hilo started to rally back from an eight-point deficit.
That was the all help necessary for Wong, who gave fans a sneak peek of what they can expect with the Hammerheads. He converted a three-point play to give Hilo a one-point lead, and after missing a fall-away 3-pointer that could have won the game at the buzzer in regulation, he scored six of his team’s points in OT.
“When you make one (3-pointer) it feels goods and it gives you a little more energy on defense,” Mandaquit said. “It lets Aukai relax a little bit and took some pressure off him.”
The Iolani team included twin brothers Brad and Cord Anderson of Waimea, who attended Hawaii Prep for a year and graduated from Iolani in 1999 and went on to play at Santa Clara. Also playing was Kainoa Chu, who entered state tournament lore in 2010 when he scored 27 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer with under five seconds left, to deny Kamehameha-Kapalama in the HHSAA Division I final.
“My favorite part about this is hanging with the Honolulu guys,” Wong said. “They come down here and they want to have fun, so we try and take care of them the best ways we can.”
Honokaa beat Konawaena in the women’s title game, and Iolani bested Hilo Blue in the 35-and-over men’s final as the tournament was played at one location for the first time.
“It was a good environment and good turnout throughout the weekend with exciting games,” Mandaquit said. “Hopefully, we can get it even bigger next year and get some more (community) support.”