Thirty-six years.

A lot can happen during that time. 1986 was a good year for Saint Louis athletics.

The rising football program won its second Oahu Prep Bowl under Cal Lee, starting a run of 13 consecutive titles, followed by a state championship trophy. The basketball program, guided by Kaipo Spencer, made a run to the state crown, edging Maryknoll 37-31 in the title tilt.

Since then, Saint Louis football made the first dynastic run, then embarked on a second roll in recent seasons with four consecutive Open Division state titles, losing in the 2021 final to Kahuku.

Crusaders basketball? The program got close during those decades since, including several runs under heralded coach Darryl Gabriel.

HHSAA

1995: runner-up

1996: third place

1998: third place

1999: third place

2000: runner-up

2003: runner-up

Close enough to salivate, too far to quench the thirst. Since that era, it has been 18 seasons without a taste of the semifinal round.

The lull ended on Saturday night at Blaisdell Arena. The Crusaders’ 57-34 win over OIA champion Mililani capped a year unlike any other. During the pandemic, on-campus training and practicing — and playing 13 exhibition games — were a blessing for Saint Louis hoopsters. Such things were forbidden at nearly every other campus.

>> PHOTO GALLERY: Saint Louis tops Mililani for Division I boys state basketball title

Now, the beautiful state-championship koa trophy is on campus at Kalaepohaku with a 20-2 season under Coach Dan Hale. The state final was lopsided against a dangerous Mililani squad, a victory that featured the heady play of guards Hayden Bayudan and Shoncin Revuelto, and the toughness and versatility of wing/posts Aiva Arquette and AJ Bianco.

“I feel great. This is the culmination of a lot of hard work,” Hale said. “These guys made it through COVID. They did all the things that you need to do. They just came together. That was a tremendous team that we played tonight and we were ready for it. I’m so proud of them.”

Arquette had fairly modest production in the quarterfinals and semifinals as more of a distributor than scorer, but the 6-foot-4 playmaker erupted with 25 points and 12 rebounds against Mililani. He tested the waters from the perimeter, but when he went to the block, the tone changed, especially with Bianco sitting after his second personal foul. A two-handed monster slam in traffic in the second quarter was the signature play for the versatile senior.

“Aiva just took it to another level. I know he’s a fabulous baseball player, but heart of my heart I would love to see him play college basketball. He stepped up and that’s what leaders do. That’s what your players need to do and he did it tonight,” Hale said.

Arquette, who spent much of his offseason traveling for baseball, is a shortstop who is one of the state’s top prospects. Occasionally, he got in workouts with former ‘Iolani and Washington State standout Derrick Low. He also put in hours in the weight room at Saint Louis. Does he love basketball? Yes.

“Tonight, we had to come out and play as a team. Mililani’s a super solid team. They can shoot. They have an inside game. We just had to fire on all cylinders and come together as a team,” Arquette said.

One of Saint Louis’ unmatched trump cards was the IQ of bigs Bianco and Arquette. It was almost unfair the way they could see the floor and make their teammates better — not entirely surprising since Bianco is heading to Nevada to play quarterback.

“I loved it. I thought the unselfishness of this team is what made us state champs.,” Bianco said. “Everyone knew their role and was willing to do whatever it took to win.”

“The chemistry was there the whole year. We had to find a way to beat all these teams,” Arquette said.

It was a tournament of changing matchup machinations. Baldwin pushed Saint Louis hard in the semifinal round. The Crusaders got a sterling performance from Bianco, a 6-4 senior, who was quicker to the draw with jump hooks in the paint against the Bears’ 6-7, 6-7 and 6-6 giants. Saint Louis endured for a 40-32 win.

In the quarterfinal round, a matchup between Saint Louis and an athletic, physical Kahuku squad appeared to be a tough draw for both squads. The Crusaders took control from the opening tip with a rarely-seen fullcourt press that dismantled and discombobulated Kahuku. That press was last used in preseason, two months earlier, and sparked Saint Louis to a stunningly easy 63-36 win.

That hellacious, twitchy-quick, on-ball pressure was sparked by Bayudan, the senior guard who attended Saint Louis in middle school, transferred to Damien, then returned to the Crusaders after the pandemic-cancelled 2020-21 season.

“This is crazy. I feel great. Just stresses are all gone. I feel thankful and grateful to have done it with my brothers,” Bayudan said, clutching the championship trophy at midcourt after the game.

He was a freshman at Damien when it won the Division II state championship.

“To be able to do it in the D-I, that was a big goal for me,” he said.

It came down to priorities for Saint Louis.

“We knew they averaged seven 3s per game so we knew we had to run them off the 3-point line. Once we did, we just trusted our help. Every screen, every handoff, we trapped and just wanted to put pressure on them. And we have bigs who could eat them up,” Bayudan noted.

Mililani, coached by former Maryknoll standout Garrett Gabriel, had the ability to go uptempo or slow the pace. The Trojans could not find their usual long-range success against Saint Louis’ man-to-man defense. Arquette, who was more of a wing and perimeter shooter as a sophomore, planted his roots on the block and dominated Mililani in the trenches.

“You don’t want to have any regrets. We talked from day one about building this thing with defense and just attacking. If they can handle it, that’s fabulous, but all year when we turned up the defense, it’s been successful and they bought into that tonight,” Hale said. “That was tremendous to see.”

The process began well before winter season and a wire-to-wire No. 1 ranking in the Star-Advertiser Top 10. When Hale became the Crusaders coach in 2019, he was returning to the islands after nine years in Virginia. There, he coached Marshall to three district championships after the program had gone 0-fer for 50 seasons.

The Hale ohana returned to the islands, including Hale’s parents, and the timing was just right. Though he had won three state titles as a player in 1979-81 (under Chris McLachlin, Ray Buck and Robin Durand) and later as a coach at his alma mater, Punahou, in ’08, Saint Louis’ plan to build a new facility was enticing. So was the history, the roots of Crusader basketball.

HHSAA (Division AA)

1957: champion (Walter Wong)

1958: runner-up

1960: runner-up

1961: champion (Wong)

1966: champion (Wong)

1967: champion (Wong)

1968: champion (Wong)

1972: runner-up

1977: third place

1986: champion (Kaipo Spencer)

“When I came here and I met some of the alumni from back in the ‘60s when they were a powerhouse and even before that, you know, I told them that my goal was to try and bring this thing back and make Saint Louis relevant in basketball again,” Hale said. “And that’s the beauty of coaching for so long because you can connect generations.

“These are young men. They are going to go out in the world, but they’re now connected to a group that played a long time ago, and that’s really what it’s all about. That’s so rewarding.”

Hale also cited the support of his coaching staff and the school administration.

“The list is long, but the most important thing is, these boys bought in. This doesn’t happen if they don’t,” he said.

Arquette has heard the stories and knows some of the history in Saint Louis’ athletic history. But two years ago, the Crusaders came up short of the state tourney. The hunger was never satisfied until now.

“It’s so surreal, it’s unbelievable. My sophomore year, you know, we came up short in the ILH playoffs. From there to here, it’s awesome,” he said.

In the winter of 2020-21, Saint Louis cobbled together a schedule of 13 exhibition games. Eleven were against club teams. Two against school teams: Punahou and Damien. While most schools kept gyms and facilities closed, the Crusaders kept working. Coach Hale installed his unique motion offense, using low and high posts as instrumental weapons. Complete balance on the floor — if all five players on offense had enough patience and vision.

Bayudan had some adjusting to do. The Crusaders spent every offensive possession of summer league running that offense.

“It was hard because I’m used to free lance, pick-and-roll, spread-out offense, but I came here knowing what I want, and that’s a state championship, and he did it. So I just had to trust his game plan, trust his scheme and there’s so much reads to his motion. It’s only going to prepare me and I’m so grateful,” Bayudan said.

The ILH playoff system may have played a slight role. While Mililani played three games in three nights to win the OIA crown, the ILH rewarded regular-season first-place finisher Saint Louis with only one playoff game. That system allowed Saint Louis to have a bye through the remainder of the bracket, which looks more like a dragon tail than a standard sub-brackets arrow.

In the end, with a future college shortstop, future college quarterback, the return of a Saint Louis middle schooler and the ultimate round trip back to the islands by a proven coach, the coveted title trophy rests atop Kalaepohaku. It is the first new roundball trophy in confines of Clarence T.C. Ching Gymnasium.

For Hale, this makes it eight state titles as a player or coach, including the three in Virginia.

There are no guarantees about the future, not in the state picture, not in the ILH gauntlet. Saint Louis? Hale thinks they’ll build on the foundation. Their seniors, including all-tournament selection Cole Schmidt, will graduate soon, but their legacy is firmly rooted.

Forward Pupualii Sepulona had a key role as a reserve and is one of the top freshmen in the state. Sophomore post Jordan Posiulai, like Sepulona, is a 6-3 defender with strength in the paint, but is also a smart passer from the high post who can score on the block. Kache Kaio, an abundantly talented wide receiver, showed significant improvement as a sophomore forward.

Freshman point guard Revuelto was crafty and productive in limited minutes. His ability to run the offense and give his team stability is a good omen. JC Ramos, a quick sophomore guard, also shows potential.

The rest of the ILH is young, uber-talented and hungry. The 2022-23 basketball season will be as competitive as ’21-22, probably more so. For now, the net has been cut down and sits on that trophy in the basketball office at Saint Louis.

The wait is over.