Whenever Kohala boys basketball coach Kihei Kapeliela is feeling nostalgic or has a hankering for hoops, the 2020 HHSAA Division II championship game is but a click away.
The Cowboys and Roosevelt were tied during a frenzied final minute at Honolulu’s Stan Sheriff Center.
“Even though I know what’s going to happen, I still get nervous,” Kapeliela said.
The rest is history. Kohala delivered the school and its community with its crowning achievement, and at long last it’s time for O’shen Cazimero and company to create new memories. A would-be BIIF opener Wednesday at Konawaena was postponed, and Kohala is scheduled to open the season Saturday against Pahoa in Kapaau in what would be the first Division II game of a season that’s been rife with postponements because of COVID-19 protocols.
When Kapeliela watches that state title triumph, played almost 23 months ago, something in particular stands out.
“I couldn’t believe how small (O’shen) looked,” Kapeliela said. “I want to say he’s put on 15 pounds of muscle. He doesn’t look the same. He looks like an adult.”
Even back then, he was already the man.
Cazimero, named Most Outstanding Player of the 2020 state tournament, missed out on a chance at trying to become a four-time BIIF Player of the Year because of the pandemic. Court time also has been hard to come by at times, however, Kapeliela said the senior’s been working out hard, sometimes twice a day, ever since his sophomore season ended.
“He’ll do everything for us,” Kapeliela said. “Point guard, defensive stopper, rebounder, creator, scorer.”
Leadership?
Naturally. Cazimero was a team captain his freshman year.
But in lieu of a Big One, Kapeliela is more likely to refer to this year’s team as the Big Three – seniors Koby Agbayani and La’akea Kauka included.
Agbayani is shooting guard who his coach called “super, super smart,” while Kauka offers size and versatility at about 6-foot-2 and is one of the team’s most improved players.
No one else on the roster played varsity two seasons ago.
“Our newer players are athletes,” said Kapeliela, who credits assistant coach Reeve Cazimero, O’shen’s dad, with much of the team’s success. “Not real big, but in our system, you run, you play defense. They just have to play their role and they understand they don’t have to score 20 points. They have to do the little things to make us successful.”
Among the role players expected do the dirty work are junior Trevor Figueroa – the younger brother of former BIIF Player of the Year Kealen Figueroa – and sophomore Landon Kauka.
While practice can be a challenge when it comes melding the team’s three experienced varsity players with everyone else, “Conditioning is never a problem for us,” Kapeliela said.
That much was true when the Cowboys played at Hilo High preseason tournament, beating the Vikings, one of the BIIF favorites in D-I, and Maui’s Lahainaluna.
As fun as it for Kapeliela to click on YouTube to watch that state title triumph, he said Kohala is more than ready to turn the page.
“That was a different team,” Kapeliela said. “They want their own championship. They are hungry.
“We still have to go through (Hawaii Prep). O’shen has never beaten HPA.”