As if on cue, Waiakea senior Calvin Mattos came through in the clutch on the basketball court, where his latest accomplishment is an unprecedented one.
Behind the all-around brilliance of Mattos, the Warriors won consecutive BIIF Division I titles, and he finished his career with an easy slam dunk.
Mattos was a landslide choice as the BIIF Division I Player of the Year, selected by the Hawaii Tribune-Herald, West Hawaii Today, and the league’s coaches, becoming the first three-time POY in league history.
Mattos, who’s looking to play ball at UH-Hilo, was the POY as a junior and sophomore. The 5-foot-9 guard was an honorable mention as a freshman.
“It’s an honor to be the only person to get three POYs in a row,” he said. “My game was the same, but I had to get a better mentality because we didn’t have the firepower like we had last year. It was good to win a BIIF title, but we won two, and I’m happy what we did.”
The other first team players were Konawaena seniors Kamakana Ching and Austin Aukai, Kamehameha junior Nalu Kahapea, and Keaau junior Rico Handy.
It’s easy to call Mattos an MVP or MOP (Most Outstanding Player), especially after he dropped 16 points on 7 of 13 shooting with eight assists in a 68-66 win over Konawaena for the BIIF title in February.
“For Calvin, he’s a pretty humble guy,” Waiakea coach Paul Lee said. “He’s the same guy as a freshman. The only difference is he has a lot more confidence and knows how to lead a team.”
Despite being the defending BIIF champions, the Warriors, who entered the title game with a 10-3 record, weren’t favored.
The Wildcats were the team to beat, again. They were 13-0, rolling along and routed Waiakea 86-72 during the regular season at Ellison Onizuka Gym.
Konawaena was in revenge mode, playing with salt on a wound, after falling to the Warriors 60-40 in in its BIIF title four-peat quest a year ago.
On Feb. 10 at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium, home to a lifetime’s worth of great BIIF moments, Mattos stamped his mark in league history that will live forever on YouTube.
Trailing 66-63, Mattos calmly dribbled down the court with a Wildcat two feet in front of him, pulled up a foot beyond the arc and swished his only 3-pointer of the night with less than six seconds on the clock.
Hilo Civic exploded in celebration. However, there was still a championship to play, and Konawaena had to inbound the ball with a chance for a last-second shot.
Amid the chaos, Waiakea freshman guard Kiai Apele maintained a steady head and eagle eyes. He stole the ball and scored as time ran out.
The last shot belonged to the Warriors, who found a way to beat BIIF opponents with better height, depth, and weapons over the past two years.
It helped that Mattos was an MVP and MOP in the BIIF championships; 24 points in 2016’s title game.
But the first brick to Waiakea building a winning foundation goes back to Mattos’ freshman year in 2014. The Wildcats defeated the Warriors 57-54 for the BIIF title.
In 2015, Konawaena eliminated Waiakea 54-48 in the BIIF semifinals and looked like a dynasty in waiting with so much young talent.
“He made our jobs easier as coaches. The thing that helped the most was at practice,” Lee said. “When you tried to guard him every day, you were only going to get better. When he guarded you, it was hard to get by him. He has quick hands and feet. He got the most out of his teammates.
“This year, I thought it would be tough for us to win BIIFs. We had him, but we lost good players. He had the will to carry the guys to the championship, and we had good senior leaders in Calvin, Shaun Kojima, Treyson Ishimoto, and Wes Amuimuia.”
Sometimes, old quotes offer the best perspective. Dust off the summary from Lee after the 2016 BIIF championship, and it makes a lot of sense.
“As everybody knows, Calvin is the heartbeat of our team. He really makes everyone on our team better,” Lee said a year ago. “Last year (2015), he would try to take over, but this year he lets the game come to him. You can see the confidence everybody has when he’s on the court.
“He’ll give up the ball and keep his teammates involved, and he’ll give it at the right spot and right time to keep them confident. He’s a good leader. If he has a bad play, he’ll move on. He keeps the team together. The team is really close, and that’s been a big difference for us this year.”
A year later, it was the same thing for Mattos, who kept improving along with his teammates. And when Waiakea required an MVP and MOP performance, he delivered on cue, once again.