The Big Island is still undefeated through two days of play at the Midsummer Night Madness tournament in Seattle.
Keaukaha moved to 3-0 at the event, with a 56-40 win against ESA Tigers DiPietro on Friday.
While the 16-point margin may indicate an easy win for the Hilo-based squad, it did not tell the story of the matchup.
“We were down by 12 at the half. We started out a little sluggish. The girls were still getting use to the time difference I think,” Keaukaha coach Ben Pana said. “The other team shot like 60 or 65 percent from 3 in the first half, so we had to adjust at the half. Our defense picked up and took away the 3 after that and it worked in our favor.”
Statistics were not available, but Pana said a balanced attack was key in the victory.
“The girls are all playing well up here,” Pana said. “We have not practiced in last two weeks and only had a month to prepare. They all come from good basketball programs and are able to quickly figure things out. It makes my job easy.
“The tournaments most defintley help during the high school season. It keeps the girls busy playing basketball during the summer time and they get the experience of playing in front of college coaches. They also get to see different levels of players and styles of play out here. It is real good for them.”
Keaukaha will play the Spokane Stars Navy at 8:30 a.m. HST Saturday in the All-Star bracket semifinals.
Coming off an impressive performance at the End of the Oregon Trail tournament earlier this week and a strong opener Thursday, Team Stingray reeled off two wins Friday to move to 3-0 at the tournament.
The Stingrays ran away with the first game of the day, defeating WVBA Select 70-33. Chanelle Molina led the way with 24 points, nine rebounds and five steals. Mercedes “Ihi” Victor contributed 11 points, and Gabrielle Ewing added 10.
The Stingrays faced a stiffer test against Central Washington Select in the bracket quarterfinals, but were able to pull away for a 52-43 victory.
Molina led the way with 19 points and eight rebounds. Ewing knocked in eight points and grabbed eight rebounds.
The Stingrays will play at 7:15 a.m. HST Saturday in the Elite Diamond bracket semifinals.
Note: Tezrah Antonio, who plays for Kohala High School during the BIIF season, is also a member of the Stingrays team competing on the mainland. Antonio was left off the roster listed in Thursday’s article.
Soccer
Kiana Corpuz scored twice as Chicas opened play at the Adidas Premier Cup with a 3-0 victory against Eugene Timbers Futbal Club Sol Red in Eugene, Oregon.
Haley Miyasato also scored for the 13-and-under East Hawaii club, while Saydee Bacdad recorded the shutout.
Coach Skee Saplan credited Chicas with playing a strong possession game.
“That’s pretty much our signature,” he said.
If the team wins its match Saturday morning against Eugene Timbers Cypress Black, it would earn the top seed in its bracket in a 14-U tournament that wraps up Sunday.
Karate
The International Karate League’s Tournament of Champions on Saturday at Edith Kanakaole Multipurpose Stadium isn’t the first of its kind, but it is historic in its own right.
While Kailua-Kona hosts an annual IKL event in the fall, Hilo hasn’t hosted an IKL event since 1986.
Featuring 160 male and female participants ages 8 and older competing for regional championships, the event starts at 8:30 a.m. with kata (forms). Kumite (fighting) will be held later in the day.
“It’s rare for Hilo and big that we get to promote our tradition,” tournament director Wilbur Mina of Keaau Dojo said. “We have many dojos from across the Big Island, Oahu, mainland.”
Baseball
With a berth in the state Little League tournament for ages 11-12 on the line, Hilo meets Maui in a best-of-three district championship series at Walter Victor Stadium.
The first game of a doubleheader Saturday begins at 10:30 a.m., and if necessary, a decisive game will be held at 10:30 a.m. Sunday.
Coached by Earl Moses, Hilo beat North Hawaii twice June 24 to claim the island championship.
By Stephens Media Hawaii sources
