On a cool, overcast Sunday morning, the outside courts at Kalakaua District Park is where Pupualii Sepulona finds sanctuary.
“This is actually my stomping ground. This is where I put most of my work in year after year, after basketball practice at Saint Louis. Get some shots up over here, all the unseen hours of hard work,” he said. “The manapua truck. I used to run here after school, me and my friends, and get chicken and rice. Pork hash.”
The world around him constantly changes, but Sepulona grows from within.
The process was a furnace. League play was a gauntlet. Saint Louis endured tougher competition en route to a state-championship three-peat and, in the end, Sepulona emerged as the Star-Advertiser Boys Basketball All-State Player of the Year for a second year in a row. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound junior was a force in every aspect of the game, averaging 15 points per game despite swarming defenses.
“He’s a real difference-maker. As a coach, you have to game-plan around him. I don’t really believe in double-teaming in our style of defense, but it’s kind of pick your poison with Pupu,” Leilehua coach Chad Townsend said. “If you don’t double, he’ll iso you and make you pay. Or he’ll get his teammates involved. He has that quality where other players stepped up because Pupu made them better.”
Crusaders coach Dan Hale enjoyed seeing his team grow in every aspect.
“This year, Pupu really expanded his game. He was able to step up and do things other than scoring. His leadership really shined as he was able to involve everyone on the team in offense,” Hale said. “He also showed up in rebounding and playing team defense so that our team could realize its potential.”
With Saint Louis chasing a third straight ILH title and a three-peat of the state championship, every defense went out of its way to hinder the powerful, explosive playmaker. For a while, the tactics seemed to work.
The Crusaders lost to Division II powerhouse University early in preseason. During the ILH regular-season, Saint Louis went 7-3, tied with Maryknoll for second place, behind 9-1 Punahou.
Sepulona never changed course, and neither did his teammates. Rather than seek a different route, the Crusaders went all in on their championship tenets. Defense. Teamwork. Efficiency. With Sepulona and his team moving the ball, cutting hard to the basket and locking down defensively, Saint Louis achieved its three-peat.
When they needed a clutch bucket, Sepulona was there on the block to punish defenses that had to abandon double-teaming game plans. He was there at the elbow swishing the 15-footer. He was there in the corner for the occasional 3-point splash. Taking charges on defense. Pulling down crucial rebounds, a man among boys in the trenches.
“He’s tough to guard. He’s got a better outside shot (this season), strong inside. He’s just hard to move,” Mililani coach Garrett Gabriel said. “You’ve got to be strong. That’s why they won three in a row. Everything they do is team. They’ve got individual talent, but the team concept will win every time.”
Sepulona did not lead the ILH, let alone the state, in scoring. However, his evolution set the tone on a squad of high-IQ contributors, including All-State point guard Shancin Revuelto.
“This year, I was more unselfish. Everybody knew our schemes, what we were running, so we had to change it up,” Sepulona said. “Last year, everybody didn’t know us. They didn’t take us seriously, so that’s why we shocked the whole state. This year, everyone on our team contributed and knew their role. I didn’t average that much points, but overall, the whole team got rewarded for being a leader out there. I give all the credit to my team, my boys.”
Mid-Pacific coach Robert Muroda-Shklov summed it up.
“Pupu is selflessly relentless,” he said.
The All-Defense voting was tight and tough. Mililani’s 6-7 shot-blocking sophomore, Tim Dorn, led the voting. Punahou’s high-motor guard, Noah Macapulay, was second, followed by Zion Milare (Maryknoll), Stone Kanoa (Saint Louis), Revuelto, Alika Ahu (University), Kainoa Wade (Kamehameha), Ayndra Uperesa-Thomas (Punahou), Jordan Posiulai (Saint Louis) and Twain Wilson (Leilehua).
The POY voting was closer than usual. Punahou’s leading scorer, James Taras, was No. 2 in the voting, while Leilehua’s sharpshooting senior, Wilson, landed at No. 3.
Taras emerged as a major force as a senior, averaging nearly 16 points per game. His varied offensive skill set boosted Punahou to the state final.
“He’s Mr. Do-It-All. Strong, athletic, high IQ,” Townsend said. “He can hit the 3, use his strength to take it to the hoop. Defensively, he gets rebounds, a lock-up defender. He takes no plays off.”
The 6-5 swingman was especially explosive after the midway point of the regular season. In Punahou’s first five ILH games, Taras averaged 11 ppg. In their next six games, he averaged 18.7 per game, including 19 against Maryknoll, 21 against Kamehameha and 17 against Saint Louis in two different games.
“James had a fabulous year. He emerged as the true leader of a very talented Punahou team,” Hale said. “When they needed a play, he was able to create one.”
Taras stepped up more in the state tournament, with 21 points against Kailua and 24 against Kamehameha-Hawaii. It was a major step up after averaging 7 ppg as a junior.
“He was really good for them this year,” Gabriel added. “He was the reason they went to the championship game.”
Wilson was a key contributor last year as a junior, the Mules’ second-leading scorer at 12 ppg. This season, coach Chad Townsend urged Wilson to take command. Wilson responded with 20 ppg in league play, leading Leilehua to its first OIA championship since 1988. Wilson was particularly en fuego in the playoffs, with 31 points against Kailua, 25 against Mililani in the league final.
He poured in a season-high 32 points against Kahuku in the state quarterfinals before Punahou limited Wilson to 17 points in the semifinal round.
“He’s the only one, when he goes off, he becomes unstoppable,” Gabriel said. “He can put points together in bunches. He’s hard to guard. He can shoot it well, penetrate and he does it at the right moments. He doesn’t overshoot.”
Wilson’s efficiency, even with the green light, was elite. Sepulona’s court vision led to easy assists to hard-cutting teammates. Taras’ constant, slashing drives to the bucket made Punahou very efficient on a points-per-possession basis. Wilson’s unselfishness, a core trait, meant that he always surrendered the ball when double-teamed. He also found open teammates who benefited from his alpha mentality from deep, mid-range and in the paint.
“Twain was a real joy to watch this year,” Hale said. “His growth as a complete basketball player really helped his team. He led by example.”
Milare surged into the top five of the All-State voting, arriving at No. 4. Milare’s ability to slash, score or create were among the very best, but his improved 3-point shot made him virtually unstoppable. Milare, the 2023 defensive player of the year, finished with a 14-point scoring average for a team that was No. 2 statewide before falling to Saint Louis on a last-second layup in an elimination game.
Hawaii remains the only state in the nation where a top-three team can miss the state tournament because a late-season playoff loss. It remains heartbreaking for fans who never got to see Milare and All-State teammate Hunter Marumoto partake in the big dance this year.
“He’s one of the best two-way players in the state. You can’t discuss an all-defense team without Zion near the top of the list,” Townsend said. “Kids talk about having a dog mentality, but they don’t really have it. Zion does. He takes it upon himself to guard point guards, 94 feet, cover them the whole way. Any college coach will be happy with him. He cares about defense.”
In one week during the ILH season, Milare hit three game-winning shots in three games.
“Zion took his game to the next level this year,” Hale said. “No moment was too big for him, whether it was an end-of-game shot or playing tough defense. He was always up for the moment.”
Like Milare, Kohala sophomore Layden Kauka took his game to another level this season. Like his father, former All-BIIF guard Lawrence Kauka, Layden Kauka is a slasher who can hit the mid-range and throw down dunks in traffic. This season, his 3-point shot both in catch-and-shoot and pull-up jumper modes became lethal. Kauka’s endurance and defense were pivotal in Kohala’s comeback win over Seabury Hall for the Division II state crown, the Cowboys’ second in a row.
“He’s a flat-out scorer, a great offensive player. When the time comes for a big shot, he always seems to hit it,” Gabriel said.
Kailua coach Wally Marciel was also impressed.
“Watching him play and the skill level he’s at was outstanding, but watching him play in the championship game, he grew even more and more,” he said.
University coach Ryan Tong saw pure willpower.
“Hands down one of the best players in the state regardless of division. He willed his team to two consecutive state championships,” Tong said. “He appears to be the heart and soul of that Kohala squad.”
Coach of the year voting was close, Hale was first in the balloting for a third year in a row after guiding the Crusaders (27-5) to a state championship three-peat. Townsend was voted second, followed by Kohala coach Kihei Kapeliela and Punahou coach Darren Matsuda. Nate Donnell (Nanakuli), Greydon Espinda (Kaimuki), Scott Prather (Seabury Hall), Muroda-Shklov (Mid-Pacific) and Mea Wong (Kamehameha-Hawaii) also received votes.
“I’m impressed that every year, Saint Louis is just steady. That’s what’s so awesome about Dan. You know what’s coming sometimes, but he just keeps finding ways, making little adjustments to his game plans,” Townsend said. “If you find a way to stop it, he has something in his bag. It’s like the Chicago Bulls of the past. You know the triangle offense is coming, but you can’t stop it. They force you to play at their tempo.”
Gabriel noted Saint Louis’ culture.
“They have a system and culture that breeds success. Everyone knows their role. Whenever you can have that, that’s the reason they’re successful,” he said. “They have basketball players, not football players coming in late. They’re running leagues. They’ve got money to get players in.”
Townsend and his staff kept the Mules busy year-round, training and playing in leagues and tournaments through Posse, a club team.
Kapeliela’s leadership at Kohala, with one of the smallest enrollments in the state, has garnered three state titles in a four-year span.
Matsuda’s Buffanblu were a perfect 8-0 at one point in ILH play, then regrouped to reach the state final. The longtime coach and two-time state champion overcame a scare in the offseason, made it through six weeks of treatment in California for prostate cancer. Every middle-aged man should get checked regularly for it, he said.
“One of six men will get it. There’s a lot of misinformation out there. It’s really avoidable,” Matsuda said. “When you’re 45, 50, you should take a PSA test. It’s your blood work. It’s a very slow-moving cancer, the No. 2 death rate of all cancers. One in every seven men will get it. Getting checked now will avoid a lot of problems.”
FAB 15
1- Pupu Sepulona Saint Louis Forward, 6-3, Junior
2- James Taras Punahou Forward, 6-5, Senior
3- Twain Wilson Leilehua Guard, 6-0, Senior
4- Zion Milare Maryknoll Guard, 5-10, Senior
5- Layden Kauka Kohala Guard, 6-1, Sophomore
6- Tim Dorn Mililani Forward, 6-7, Soph.
7- Shancin Revuelto Saint Louis Guard, 5-10, Junior
8- Ayndra Uperesa-Hunter Thomas Punahou Forward, 6-3, Senior
9- Hunter Marumoto Maryknoll Guard, 6-2, Senior
10- Maddox Pung Kailua Guard/Forward, 6-3,
11- Trey Ambrozich University Forward, 6-7, Sophomore
12- CJ Bostic Kalaheo Guard, 6-2, Junior
13- Noa Donnelly Kailua Forward/Center, 6-6, Senior
14- Jeremiah White Kaimuki Guard, 6-1, Senior
15- Kache Kaio Kahuku Forward/Center, 6-3, Senior
Coach of the Year — Dan Hale Saint Louis
HONORABLE MENTION
Nela Taliauli, ‘Iolani
Jordan Posiulai, Saint Louis
Koa Laboy, University
Kawohi Huihui, KS-Hawaii
Bromo Dorn, Seabury Hall
Miles Hornage, Campbell
Nixis Yamauchi, Maryknoll
Dillon Kellner, Punahou
Mana Lau Kong, ‘Iolani
Kainoa Wade, Kamehameha
Zion Donnell, Nanakuli
Josh Schutter, Kalaheo
Trotter Apo, Baldwin
Stone Kanoa, Saint Louis
Roman Gabriel, Mililani
Caden Williams, Radford
Keaka Kauhane, Kapaa
Kiai Yasso, KS-Hawaii
Daysen Lupica, Kaimuki
LeCedric Brown, Mililani
Eli Shibuya, Hawaii Baptist
Peyton Pana, Hilo
Luke Tobin, ‘Iolani
Kash Daley, Kahuku
Alika Ahu, University
Jackson Swirsky, Le Jardin
Jordan Babcock, King Kekaulike
