Pearl City senior Malosi Viena rises above challenges

At 17 points per game with a long 6-foot-2, 175-pound frame, there’s a lot to like about Malosi Viena, the Pearl City hoopster.

With a viral video behind him and an all-star game ahead, his journey is far from complete. The deaf boy born with a hole in his heart — repaired shortly after birth — and an enormously athletic, loving family is in his sweet spot. Next stop: college.

Viena’s non-hoops numbers might be more impressive: 3.2 grade-point average, including 3.7 this academic year. He and his parents visited RIT/NTID (Rochester Institute/National Technical Institute for the Deaf) in Rochester, N.Y., where they play Division III men’s basketball. They’re planning to visit Gallaudet University, another deaf-oriented college. Another basketball standout, Brandon Chung of Kalani/Hawaii School for the Deaf and Blind, has applied to the same schools. The two friends would like to play together.

“I do love learning. If I don’t become an engineer, I would love to teach deaf students,” Viena said.

Mom likes either idea.

“He wants to help the deaf like how his educators helped him,” Leslee Viena said.

Dean Viena, his father, likes those prospects.

“He’s driven. He knows what he wants,” Dean said. “He wants to be successful. He wants to get his own house. He’s worked part-time jobs a couple of times. He likes making his own money.”

For mom and dad, it all culminated on senior night. Their youngest child lined up to make his final shot. But it was a dunk he had in mind.

“I never thought he could do it. I never even knew he was practicing to do it,” Leslee said. “His brothers said, ‘He’s going to do it, Mom.’ The first two times, he missed and I was like, just tell him do a layup. They’re like, ‘No, no. One more time, ‘Losi, you can do this!’ And he made it. That was the best part of this whole season. I could see how proud he was and how happy he was. He got to do it in front of all of his friends and all of his friends who came to support him.”

Viena was born without hearing and without ears. Unlike his brothers and sister, Malosi was born in San Diego.

“We all flew up. Before he was born, they already could tell he had a hole in his heart,” oldest brother Bulla Viena said.

The surgery was successful, but the close watch had just begun. It was tough enough for a non-athlete, but toddler Malosi clung to his basketball and never let it go.

“That was the hardest part in the beginning,” older brother Drew Viena added. “My parents monitored him. We figured out how far we could push him.”

From ages 7 to 10, he endured four surgeries to fashion his ears from rib cartilage. Then came cochlear implant surgery to each side of his head. A collision during summer league before sophomore year caused a break to one of the implants, and he missed the entire year.

Despite the many physical obstacles, it was the time lost that Viena had to make up. Chargers coach Lionel Villarmia has a specific blueprint for offense and defense. After a junior season learning the system, with help from interpreter Becky Hoopii, senior year became much smoother for Viena and the Chargers.

“This year was way better. He knew me, I knew him, he knew the program. Summer ball. So he was one of our captains this year. Cannot talk, but he can lead, that’s what I told him,” Villarmia said. “Him and (point guard) Albert Perry did a good job. We only had three seniors.”

Perry was, in some ways, a bridge to Viena’s world.

“When they were juniors, Albert went lomi him, bring him on, talk to him,” Villarmia said. “Albert learned some sign language from Coach Beck (Hoopii). I told Albert, that’s a good deal. You’re the point guard, I yell the play and you give the (hand) signal. This year, we’re more athletic, so we added more different stuff to our offense and defense, so Malosi and Albert figured out what to call it. That was neat.”

Viena and Perry learned from each other.

“That felt good. I would teach him some ASL, and he was trying to learn. Two or three weeks later, Albert learned really quickly and could memorize all the ASL I was teaching him,” Viena said.

The viral video was a memory maker, but their friendship is timeless.

“He’s also a great friend, you know. He’s got a lot of jokes to tell,” Perry said. “For being deaf, he’s still one of the funniest people I know. It just happens out of nowhere, he says some of the funniest stuff. He’s one of the best.”

After all the adversity, Viena became one of the state’s top scorers. Senior year has been quite memorable for Viena. following in the footsteps of his brothers (Bulla, Saint Louis, and Drew, AOP), sister Kodee (Maryknoll), father (Dean) and uncle (Dino). Dean and Dino Viena were 6-4 twins who led Waipahu to glory in the early 1980s. Viena’s siblings left their marks, too, as starters and standout players at their respective schools.

None of them went viral, however. Not long before the season ended, Viena splashed a step-back corner 3 against Radford. Uncle Jordan Viena filmed the shot, which brought the raucous crowd at Pearl City’s gym to its feet as a defender fell down. National social media accounts picked the footage up. Then Bleacher Report ran it. ESPN highlighted it. Millions of views later, Malosi Viena is a social media juggernaut.

“He went from 400 followers to almost 5,000 overnight,” Drew recalled.

Adulation and attention were fun, but Viena remained laser sharp. In this family, iron sharpens iron.

“That’s good and all, but we told him you have to focus on one game at a time. It’s easy for people to get big-headed. ‘Now I don’t have to work.’ That’s where you can see how much you are focused,” Drew said.

On Saturday, he has one last hurrah as a high school baller. Viena is part of the OIA/public schools team that will take on the ILH squad in the Hawaii Senior Classic at Moanalua High School. Another moment for fun. Another opportunity. Nothing more, nothing less.

“It’ll be fun. We’ll play hard,” Viena said. “You’ll play the best.”

MALOSI VIENA

Pearl City basketball, volleyball; 6-2, senior

FAVORITES / Q&A

>> Athlete: LeBron James

“He’s such a skilled player. His ability, his domination. He’s so amazing on the court. When I was growing up, I wanted his jersey number. When he moved to Miami, then back to Cleveland and now with the Lakers, he was always my favorite player.”

>> Team: Los Angeles Chargers

>> Hobby: I like Tik Tok and I like to dance.

>> Movie: “Like Mike”

>> TV show: “The Good Doctor”

>> Video game: NBA2K 20

“I always played that one growing up. I use LeBron. He’s easy to score with.”

>> Music artist: Ana Vee ”She’s my cousin (Ana Viena-Lota).”

>> Teacher: ”I have too many favorite teachers to name them all. It’s a long list here. Every school I went to I had favorite teachers. I’m thankful for all of them.”

>> GPA: 3.2 (cumulative)

“This year, first quarter I was 3.7. Second quarter, I’m not sure.”

>> Class: Math

>> Place to relax: Honowai Park

“I like to play basketball and shoot there. That’s where I go to relax and chill. That’s what I do every day.”

>> Motto/scripture: Proverbs 3:5-6

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him and He will direct your path.”

>> What does mom (Leslee) say that you can’t forget? ”She always tells me to remember to say my prayers before every game and after every game. Always thank God.”

>> What does dad (Dean) say that you can’t forget? ”He’s so funny. My dad tells me every time I come into a game, if you play good, we’ll eat good. If you play lousy, then we’ll eat at McDonald’s.”

>> What do your coaches say that you can’t forget? ”Coach Lionel (Villarmia) told me you need to drive (to the basket). Drive first, shoot 3s later.”