Team Aloha wins tourney

Team Aloha captured the championship of the 17th annual Arizona Elite Spring Classic on Sunday in Phoenix, Ariz.

Chanelle Molina, the Star-Advertiser state player of the year from Konawaena, scored 15 points, and Farrington junior Jeneva Toilolo had 13 to lead Team Aloha over Oregon Elite White, 44-39, in the tournament final.

"When we left (for Arizona), I wasn’t sure we were on this championship route. But all the players stepped up for every single game. It was a nice surprise because we didn’t have great practices or scrimmages. We just wanted to progress with each game," coach Fran Villarmia-Kahawai said.

The girls basketball squad, comprised of underclassmen selected by Villarmia-Kahawai and her staff, went 6-0 in the 47-team bracket. Team Aloha defeated Arizona Elite Gray 57-30, Utah Flash 60-21 and Oregon Elite Orange 51-46 in overtime.

"Our mentality wasn’t where I wanted it to be at," Villarmia-Kahawai said of the OT game. "We had a 7:30 walk-through the next morning and we played at 8 a.m., and we played a near-perfect game."

That near-perfect game was a 55-29 victory over EBX2 (Calif.), followed by a win over NW Blazers Orange (Wash.) 45-34 to reach the title game. Their title-game opponent had a bye and the advantage of rest on Team Aloha.

"We were down by two at halftime, so we made a couple of adjustments," Villarmia-Kahawai said.

The game was tied with about 1:30 to go. Molina drove for a three-point play to make the difference.

The team included Lindsay Bates (Lahainaluna), Shantel Appleby (Mililani), Ihi Victor (Konawaena), Tyra Moe (Punahou), Alexis Pana (Hilo) and Patria Vaimaona (Kailua). The coaching staff included team founder Mufi Hannemann, Keisha Kanekoa and Rodney Cavaco.

Warriors face Big Red

The Kamehameha boys volleyball team is facing the consequences of finishing second in the state’s toughest league.

With Punahou entrenched again as league champion, the new regional format means the Buffanblu will enjoy the comforts of staying home while Friday’s Kamehameha-Kahuku winner will travel to the Big Island for Saturday’s quarterfinal against Kamehameha-Hawaii, which defeated Waiakea over the weekend to win the BIIF title.

At Kapalama, coach Kainoa Downing had expected to be in the bracket of OIA champion Moanalua again. Instead, Kamehameha, ranked No. 3 in the Star-Advertiser Top 10 poll, will have a tough road ahead.

Kahuku is a young team that got some key players back from academic probation in time for a strong late-season run. If the Warriors get by them, they’ll face KS-Hawaii’s Evan Enriques, who was the state player of the year in 2012.

"I know they have the best player in the state, if not the second best," Downing said. "If we can get past Kahuku, we’ll go up to the Big Island and play hard. Kamehameha (Big Island) has a great coach, great staff. Playing Kahuku and then Kamehameha (Big Island) at their home gym will be great tasks."

The Division I portion of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Boys Volleyball State Championships begin Friday with two 1 p.m. matches and two 7 p.m. pairings. The Kamehameha-Kahuku match will be at Kalani’s gym (1 p.m.), and the Leilehua-Waianae match will be at ‘Iolani (1 p.m.).

Waiakea meets Kalaheo at Punahou and Baldwin faces Campbell at Moanalua in the 7 p.m. matches.

The 1 p.m. winners are slated to travel Saturday to neighbor-island destinations. Kamehameha-Hawaii will host the Kamehameha-Kahuku winner at 3 p.m.

King Kekaulike will entertain the Leilehua-Waianae winner in another 3 p.m. quarterfinal.

Punahou, the top seed, will host the Waiakea-Kalaheo winner on Saturday (3 p.m.), while second-seeded Moanalua will host the Baldwin-Campbell victor (3 p.m.).

BASEBALL

Also receiving votes: Hilo 9, Moanalua 7, Kaiser 6, Roosevelt 5, Kauai 2, Maryknoll 2, Waianae 2, Mililani 2, Konawaena 2.

SOFTBALL

Also receiving votes: ‘Iolani 9, Pearl City 4, Leilehua 1.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Also receiving votes: Kalaheo 7, King Kekaulike 5.