Big Isle briefs: Hoops tourney/officials clinic begins on Thursday

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Players and referees alike will sharpen their craft at “Step Up and Call It,” a high school basketball tournament and officials clinic that runs Thursday-Saturday at Hilo High School gymnasium and Panaewa Park covered courts.

Players and referees alike will sharpen their craft at “Step Up and Call It,” a high school basketball tournament and officials clinic that runs Thursday-Saturday at Hilo High School gymnasium and Panaewa Park covered courts.

Ten teams will compete for the tournament title with more than 30 officials from around the state and mainland looking to develop their skills.

Organized by the Hawaii Island Sports Officials Association, the officials clinic will be conducted by Andrea Osborne, coordinator of women’s basketball officials for the NCAA Division Big West Conference and NCAA Division II Pacific West Conference.

Teams are divided into two pools with the pool competition determining Saturday’s single-elimination championship matchups starting at 8 a.m.

Games will be four eight-minute quarters with three-minute overtimes. Each team will have one timeout per period with no carry over. Teams will have five minutes for an on-court pre-game warm-up.

For more information, contact HISOA president Linda Lopez at 937-5261.

Schedule

Thursday

Pool A

At Hilo High

Rancho Mirage, Calif., vs. Pahoa, 12:30 p.m.

Waiakea vs. Kohala, 1:30 p.m.

Hilo ‘B’ vs Rancho Mirage, 2:30 p.m.

Waiakea vs. Pahoa, 3:30 p.m.

Kohala vs. Hilo ‘B,’ 4:30 p.m.

Pool B

Panaewa courts

Konawaena vs. Ka‘u, 12:30 p.m.

Hilo ‘A’ vs. Honokaa, 1:30 p.m.

Kealakehe vs. Konawaena, 2:30 p.m.

Ka’u vs. Honokaa, 3:30 p.m.

Hilo ‘A’ vs. Kealakehe, 4:30 p.m.

Friday

At Hilo High

Konawaena vs. Hilo ‘A,’ 12:30 p.m.

Kealakehe vs. Honokaa, 1:30 p.m.

Ka‘u vs. Hilo ‘A,’ 2:30 p.m.

Konawaena vs. Honokaa, 3:30 p.m.

Ka‘u vs. Kealakehe, 4:30 p.m.

Pilipa’a 1-1 at nationals

Pilipa’a went 1-1 Tuesday and improved to 3-2 at the USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championship at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

Pilipa’a faced 6 Pack of the Iowa Region in their first match of the day. 6 Pack was the top-seeded team in the pool and came into the match undefeated. They featured a 6-foot-4 middle and a very strong outside hitter.

“Pilipa’a did a great job slowing down the big middle and hard-swinging outside hitter,” coach Chris Leonard said. “We exchanged big swings throughout the match but came up just a bit short in a 2-0 (25-23, 25-17) loss. Pilipa’a battled back in the second match of the day with a 2-0 (25-14, 25-19) win over the Midwest Penguins from the Badger Region in Wisconsin.”

Pilipa’a finished third in the six-team pool and advanced to the top 24 in the 48-team field.

Pilpa’a will face Vision 15 Gold of Northern California Wednesday afternoon at 1:30 pm.

“We’ve got a big challenge in front of us,” Leonard said.