Christmas Togiai was invaluable for Kamehameha in earning All-State Player of the Year honors

On paper, Christmas Togiai averaged 14 points per game, but his value as a rebounder, passer, ball-handler, defender and primary decision-maker is why Kamehameha was No. 1 for most of the season.

He’d trade it all, of course, for a second chance.

Late in a semifinal battle with Kahuku, Togiai went down and stayed down after suffering a right knee injury. He returned to the game, gritted it out for a bit, and returned to the bench. Kamehameha prevailed that night, but Togiai’s absence due to an ACL injury was a major factor in the state final loss to Maryknoll.

The Spartans won their second state crown in a row as Togiai watched from the bench. The perfect ILH record. The No. 1 ranking for six weeks. All gone.

Despite the injury, coaches and media voted him nearly unanimously as the Star-Advertiser boys basketball Player of the Year. Togiai received all but one vote. Maryknoll’s Niko Robben was second in the voting and Kamehameha’s Kordel Ng was third.

“It’s exciting. I just wish we could’ve ended it different,” said Togiai, who had surgery last week. “I still think, even if I didn’t play, our team could’ve won. Should’ve won. We had all the weapons. All credit to my team. I can’t take none of the fame or glory. If everyone’s not doing their job, I wouldn’t be able to do what I did. I give a lot of credit to my team, my coaches. They put in a lot of work in the offseason, getting closer. We were a family this year. It really showed on the court. We were just happy to play together.”

Warriors coach Larry Park saw Togiai emerge out of the program’s intermediate level.

“He’s been a tremendous competitor and player for our program for four years. His hard work, his leadership — hopefully our younger guys can take that example and move forward with that,” Park said. “At our banquet, he talked to them about playing hard, building relationships with each other. Basketball’s not everything. They have to take care of their schoolwork and their relationships.”

Maryknoll had beaten Kamehameha once in four matchups prior to the state final. After the win, Spartans coach Kelly Grant noted a rough night trying to catch some winks.

“The injury was huge. I couldn’t sleep last night because usually when I prepare for a team, I make one game plan,” Grant said. “But I had to make two. I didn’t know if Christmas was going to play or not. In the morning, I got word that he had a torn ACL. My heart goes out to the guy. Four years of tremendous basketball. It is what it is. It makes a big difference.”

Grant was voted Coach of the Year as Maryknoll (31-4) won back-to-back titles despite losing four starters to graduation. For Grant, this is his third state championship. The first came at Kaimuki. Kihei Kapeliela of Division II state champion Kohala and Park were close in the voting. Also getting votes were Robert Shklov of Mid-Pacific, Steve Hathaway of Roosevelt, Brandyn Akana of Kahuku, Michael Johnson of Moanalua and Chad Townsend of Leilehua.

Togiai has a 3.8 grade-point average. His plan is to attend Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Ariz., and train to become a commercial pilot, as well as play hoops.

Robben was a point guard on Maryknoll’s title team last year. He moved to the wing and became a consistent go-to scorer (12 points per game). Shooting range, ability to drive to the bucket and defend — No. 6 in the all-defensive voting — made the 6-foot-4 senior a tough matchup.

“If advanced stats were taken in the ILH, I wouldn’t be surprised if Niko led the league in them,” Shklov said. “His efficiency, ability to make the right read, defensive flexibility and feel for the game are sometimes unquantifiable. They don’t always show up in the stat book, but he routinely makes the correct play. High IQ, unflappable and their closer in league play.”

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