Taimane Faleafine-Auwae and Maryknoll have extra motivation

There is a scissors cut on a basketball court, and there’s another kind of scissors cut that would make Taimane Faleafine-Auwae and her teammates smile.

“I think if we win this year, it’s coming off,” the Maryknoll center said of her coach, Chico Furtado.

To be specific, she wants to end coach Chico Furtado’s beard. The long, white pandemic-era growth. Part mountain man, part Santa Claus.

“If we win the ILH, win at states. The ponytail might go too,” Faleafine-Auwae said.

She is the big sister of the Maryknoll Spartans girls basketball team. The 6-foot-1 standout is a protector in the paint, swatting away shots, contesting shooters like no other defender in the ILH. Her game on the post is expanding beyond drop-step power moves thanks to a silky mid-range shot. The automatic jump hook is always there.

“I’ve been working on it, but we’ve been mostly working on running plays since it’s preseason,” said Faleafine-Auwae, who is averaging a double-double in points and rebounds.

But it never hurts to have a little extra incentive. Maryknoll (6-1) is ranked No. 3 in the Star-Advertiser Girls Basketball Top 10. Furtado, who yielded the coaching position for the past two seasons and was director of girls basketball operations, is back at the helm. Since retiring from his job as a counselor at Maryknoll, he has grown out his locks. The extra-long beard was already in place since the start of the pandemic. The Lady Spartans are eager for some alterations.

“They all want that. They got to earn it,” Furtado said. “This isn’t for free.”

The Spartans are holding him to his word.

“I’m surprised that he’s willing to do it. I can’t tell if he’s actually serious,” Faleafine-Auwae said.

For years, Maryknoll set the standard, winning the ILH four years in a row. Then came the ‘Iolani dynasty. The Lady Spartans aren’t quite as experienced and deep as their four-peat league champions of yesteryear, but they do have talent plus abundant chemistry. Even Furtado seems lighter after more than three decades of coaching.

“Taimane is a fun-loving kid. All the kids like her. The thing I like about this team, they have fun together at practice, in our meetings. We don’t have any egos, no clique-ish stuff,” he said. “I’m enjoying being with this group.”

Faleafine-Auwae thrives within the close-knit setting.

“We consider each other a family. We’re sisters. We don’t fight. We enjoy every moment we have at practice and in school. it’s one of the best connections we’ve had since I’ve been at Maryknoll,” she said. “We’re all really close. We’re always hanging out, having a good time with each other. It’s not two people and the rest of the team. We’re all together. We’re all one.”

Faleafine-Auwae’s mother, Lisa Faleafine, grew up playing basketball and suited up for her coach and father, Louie Faleafine Sr. at McKinley. She and Iokepa Auwae moved to Lahaina, his hometown, and raised Taimane and Ghesiah. When Faleafine-Auwae played for Lahaina’s Menehune squad at one of the Jam On It tournaments in Honolulu, her folks became acquainted with the Lightning club team coached by Tony Ho‘olulu. Eventually, she played with the Lightning, and when Ho‘olulu joined the staff at Maryknoll, Faleafine-Auwae followed, moving to Oahu for freshman year at Maryknoll, living with her auntie.

Ghesiah attends Baldwin, where he plays football and basketball. He is 6-3 and 250 pounds.

“He’s taller than me. He’s good,” big sister said.

Still has family on mind

She misses her family. She flew home over the weekend

“I miss Lahaina a lot. I miss my friends, just the community and being with the people I grew up with. My cousins and everything,” Faleafine-Auwae said.

She flew home after Maryknoll’s 58-14 win over Moanalua on Saturday morning to watch Ghesiah’s basketball game. Baldwin lost to Kailua 66-50. Then she flew back to Oahu on Sunday night.

Faleafine-Auwae was set on playing basketball in the ILH one way or another. She has a 3.46 grade-point average and has a keen interest in government and law.

“It wasn’t like, I’m going to Maryknoll for sure before (high school). I tested for every school. Kamehameha, Punahou, ‘Iolani. I got into all the schools, but I felt more comfortable with Coach Chico and Coach Tony. I felt like it’s the best decision for me,” Faleafine-Auwae said. “My mom and dad were like, whatever you want, wherever is best for you.”

It was simple but not easy.

“My outside extended family said, ‘We want you to go to ‘Iolani.’ ‘We want you to go to Punahou.’ My mom’s sisters wanted me to go to Punahou because my uncle (Louis Faleafine Jr.) went there. My other uncle wanted me to go to ‘Iolani because he graduated from there,” she said.

Lisa Faleafine and her family allowed Taimane to follow her road.

“Our emotions were running on high. Everything you could think of went through our minds. We knew this was her decision and we had to support her. We didn’t want ‘what ifs.’ We agreed no matter what she could come home any time, to visit or move home,” Lisa Faleafine said. “We treated the situation as if she was going to college. If we as a family can make it through the first year, we knew she would be able to handle the next three years.

“To grow up at 14 without your parents and brother is not something you want every child to have to go through. We are proud of the lady she has become. She is smart, makes good decisions, knows what she wants and has a great future ahead of her. We could not have asked for more.”

Taimane is now a part of a lively group of hoopsters at a basketball-loving school.

“Every game, we take a step forward. We try to do our best to play to our level. I think right now that’s one of our biggest challenges, to keep the energy alive. I think that we’re doing good so far with playing our level,” she said. “All of us have a role to play and we all know what that is.”

Ciera Tugade-Agasiva emerged last season as a rugged, versatile player who can score, rebound and defend. Early in preseason, she and Faleafine-Auwae led the team in scoring, but in a win over Lahainaluna, Dylan Neves, Madison Guillermo and Janelle Yap stepped up as leading scorers. Elisa Holakeituai adds some scoring, length and rebounding.

“There isn’t anybody on the team who has a big ego, trying to do everything,” Faleafine-Auwae said.

Holakeituai remembers meeting her tall teammate for the first time.

“I remember her just towering over me and having one of the biggest smiles. She is always thinking of others and pushes them to not only reach their goals, but to reach what she knows they are capable of,” Holakeituai said. “This is also what makes her a great captain.”

It was a surprise to Faleafine-Auwae that Maryknoll is near the top of the statewide rankings.

“I didn’t even know we’re third. I think it’s going to be a very tough season. We’ve just got to play our game and not let anything affect us,” she said. “And we should be good.”

Coach also a joker

Furtado gives as well as he takes.

“She loves the number 21. That’s just her number. This year, we got new uniforms. I had nothing to do with the ordering,” he said. “I told her at practice, ‘Bad news. They didn’t order 21.’ She almost cried, she was so distraught,” he recalled.

Faleafine-Auwae remembers it well.

“That was almost a week-and-a-half ago.I got there an hour before everyone to put up shots. I was so sad, I was going to cry. I was trying to keep it together and put on my shoes,” she said.

But when new uniforms were being distributed, No. 21 was right there in the box.

“I let that sit for about a minute and a half. ‘You know what? I’m just kidding.’ She says, ‘Coach, you almost killed me.’ ”

Furtado never knew the origin story. Jersey No. 21 means this to Maryknoll’s big sister: “When I was in sixth grade, I was playing for Lahaina and my coach asked what we wanted for numbers. I called my mom. ‘Mom, I don’t know what to pick.’ She said, ‘Pick 21.’ It was her number and my uncle’s number.”

Coach Furtado’s ponytail and beard might be relics soon, even if the Spartans don’t know their head coach’s given name.

“I thought it was Chico. It’s not? Wait,” said Faleafine-Auwae, reaching for a yearbook.

“Thomas!”