The Honokaa High School boys basketball team has made it to the state championship tournament for the first time in eight years. It’s a bit of a Cinderella story, complete with a fairy godmother.

In fall 2014 coach Jayme Carvalho was on a plane bringing his team home to Hawaii island from the Radford tournament. He struck up a conversation with another passenger, who asked how the boys from such a small school in a rural area paid for the trip to Oahu. Carvalho described their many fundraisers: “kalua pig — the real kind, cooked in the ground, smoke meat — my family’s recipe, car washes, concessions during the games, selling steaks.” Sometimes nobody gets a free weekend for months because of all the fundraising activities.

The woman said she was on her way to Hilo for a funeral for a friend, but she wanted to help the Honokaa team. “Please contact me,” she told him.

Carvalho wasn’t sure what to think. Sometimes people are moved to say things in the moment that get lost later on.

But Marlene Tokiwa meant what she said.

She had been a team mom for her sons. “I know how hard it is and how expensive it is,” she said. “I just thought, ‘Let’s see what we can do.’”

The next year, when the Honokaa boys came back to Honolulu for the 2015 Radford tournament, Tokiwa made good on the promise.

“I tried to think of a way to help the team out,” she said. “Young, growing boys always need to eat, so we met up at Costco when they came in and we went on a shopping spree. While the coaches were shopping, the boys ate — what a deal it was! I have never fed so many boys for such a bargain!”

Tokiwa and her friend Roger Yokoyama also paid for the team’s groceries — a bill Carvalho estimates was close to $750 — for all the team’s meals in the house they rented for their stay.

Tokiwa and Yokoyama went to Honokaa’s games and brought Gatorade for the players. One night, Tokiwa offered to take the boys to see a UH basketball game at the Stan Sheriff Center. Because of their own game and a potluck hosted by their opposing team, the Honokaa boys got to the UH game late, but they made the best of it.

“They were so excited. They had never been to a live UH game before,” Tokiwa said. “Since the game was almost over and a lot of people had left, they sat near the UH bench. After the game they took pictures with some of the UH players. Then we went for ice cream. They were so appreciative.”

On the last day of their trip, the boys had planned to go to Ala Moana Center. Some of them had never been to the shopping mecca. But first they stopped by Tokiwa’s house to say goodbye. Tokiwa invited them to swim in the pool. The boys voted, and decided to stay rather than go to Ala Moana. Yokoyama fired up the barbecue.

Carvalho told his players they had to repay the debt by giving their all, both in the classroom and on the court. They owed it to the people who helped them. They also sent red velvet brownies from Big Island Candies as a mahalo.

“The last thing we said to the boys was that we wanted to see them back here for states, and they did it!” Tokiwa said. She said that was the best mahalo ever. Plus the red velvet brownies.

The team raised the money to cover their airfare for this trip, but Yokoyama and Tokiwa wanted to help.

“Roger told us, ‘No need stay in a hotel. Come stay at my house. I have room,’” Carvalho said. Yokoyama and Tokiwa got two U-Haul 15-passenger vans for the team. They planned a meal for them on Wednesday night. They’ll cheer for them at every game.

Carvalho, a man who has no trouble expressing himself, doesn’t know what to say about this. On the one hand, he is hugely grateful. On the other hand, he was taught by his elders — and teaches his players — that everything should be earned through hard work.

Tokiwa and Yokoyama framed their generosity in a way Carvalho could accept.

It went back to that Hilo funeral for their friend Jonny Wong, who was an avid sports fan and team dad for his children.

“I thought of Jonny Wong and how he had touched so many people in Hilo. We could help them like Jonny would have. It was a good feeling to be able to help others in a small way,” Yokoyama said.

Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.