The Hawaii Hammerheads have finally found a league that works for them and won’t drown the minor-league basketball team in red ink.
The Hammerheads will play in the inaugural Oceania Basketball Association, a six-team league that runs from October to January. The top four qualify for the playoffs. (The OBA’s website will launch Aug. 1 with rosters and schedules.)
Hawaii was initially invited to play in the ABA (American Basketball Association) in April 2016 but dropped out and went to the ABL (Asean Basketball League) and declined again.
Major potholes centered on transportation issues with both leagues requiring Hawaii to foot visiting teams’ travel bills — a red-ink soaking situation the UH-Manoa football team knows all too well.
However, Hammerheads president and coach Kevin Williams kept swinging away, and OBA opponents Guam, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and American Samoa will fly on their own dime.
“The Asean league was still there, but the deal they have with Air Asia fell through in Hawaii, so we would have to pay for teams to fly to us and us to fly to them,” he said. “That would have cost over $200,000 a year.
“The new OBA league with Pacific Island teams is more cost-effective than flying all the way to Asia. The OBA teams have their own money.”
The Hammerheads have a preseason two-game series, playing the Kauai Stars on Aug. 5 and Maui United on Aug. 6 at the UH-Hilo gym.
Hawaii’s regular-season home opener is against Solomon Islands on Oct. 14-15. That start is before the BIIF preseason in December, so the Hammerheads have the hoops scene all to themselves for a while.
Despite the team’s long search to find a league, Hawaii’s headliners — local boys Aukai Wong and Lanaki Apele, ball wizard Austin Treweek, and versatile big man Joel Feigler — have exhibited a great deal of patience; they are all still on the roster.
The other versatile big, Chris Williams from St. Louis (no relation to Kevin Williams), will leave Saturday to play ball in China and is likely a scratch for the season, the other Williams said.
Treweek, who’s from Australia, will report to Hilo on Oct. 1. There’s a maximum of two world imports, and he counts as one.
The OBA mission statement is “To teach, develop, and expose basketball players to NBA, NBDL, and International scouts while providing the local community an exciting brand of basketball and entertainment.”
It remains to be seen whether the OBA can turn into a hoops version of the reputable Atlantic League, the independent circuit that sends the most players to MLB affiliated ball.
Or if the OBA becomes the four-team Pacific Association, which featured the Hawaii Stars from 2012 to ’13 and is ranked at the bottom of the six independent baseball leagues: Atlantic, American Association, Cam-Am League, Frontier League, Pecos League, and Pacific Association.
At the very least, the Hammerheads have an entertaining roster, one that doesn’t resemble a group of old guys playing a Honolulu all-star pickup game.
Wong competed at a tryout with the Toronto Raptors 905, the NBA Development League affiliate in 2015 but went undrafted in the two-round draft.
Shooting guard Brandon Matano, a former Rainbow Warrior, was on TNT’s Dunk King and played for Team Flight Brothers, considered the world’s greatest dunkers.
Treweek is Example A of basketball fundamentals and can be seen on YouTube dazzling defenders with his ball-handling skills. His favorite player is Jason “White Chocolate” Williams, the highlight reel NBA point guard from 1998 to 2011, who was drafted by the Sacramento Kings.
Williams talked to UH-Hilo sharpshooter Parker Farris but opted for well-rounded 6-foot-9 forward Anthony Gallagher, from Seattle, who played at Evergreen State, an NAIA school in Olympia, Wash., from 2008 to ’10.
On a YouTube video, Gallagher shows that he’s far more than a long-distance gunner. He has a nice step-back jumper, can run the floor in transition and defend the rim.
“We talked to Parker, but we can only have two imports from the USA mainland, and those spots went to Joel Feigler and Gallagher,” Williams said. “This team will be exciting and fun to watch. Matano is a YouTube sensation. We expect him to be a candidate for MVP this season. Gallagher is 6 feet 9 and has a 45-inch vertical.”
Other locals on the team are former Pahoa standout Isaiah Ekau and Oahu’s Kona Makaula (Clark College) and Nick Demusis (Whittier).
“Nick and Kona are two of the best two-way players in the state,” Williams said. “Fans should expect a lot of high-flying action from these two guards.
“Physical play and defense are what we needed at the forward spot from Ekau. I believe with these latest signings we can compete for a championship this season.”