LIHU‘E — This was a big man’s tournament, but the little guys shine, said Clyde Vito, coach of Papalina, Sunday.
Dayson Watanabe of the Honolulu Sharks, a quick-moving guard, was voted the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after notching 64 points entering the championship game.
“He could do that all day long,” said Neil Fagarang, a Kaua‘i High School coach, describing the sweeping move inside for a quick bucket. “You should have been here. He did it with his eyes closed! He was the ace-in-the-hole.”
Watanabe topped the Sharks’ scoring in a 39-30 win over Ali‘i Basketball for the championship in the Merv Lopes Kaua‘i Hoops Classic. In addition to pocketing 17 points, including a buzzer-beater three-ball in the third quarter, Watanabe’s quickness on the court snagged two critical rebounds in the final four minutes of play to stifle the Ali‘i’s comeback efforts.
“That must have been at least 30 to 35 feet,” said Peter Rayno, one of three court officials for the title game. “Yes, it counted.”
That trey ignited the crowd that chorused the buzzer with a singular “Whoa!”
Eliet Donley joined Watanabe with a three-ball at the 1:15 mark in the fourth quarter and snagging three key boards in the final four minutes of play. Donley finished with 12 points, including two treys.
The Ali‘i led through three quarters of play, the Sharks taking the lead for the first time when Alex Kidani slipped through for a bucket, his only one in the game, that gave the Sharks a 28-27 edge at the 4:18 mark. Kidani finished the game with four points, his other pair coming off the foul line in the second period.
Watanabe built on the Sharks’ lead with Donley icing the win on a three-ball at the 1:15 mark.
Jayden Matsumoto answered for the Ali‘i with a three-ball, the only score in the quarter, with 53 ticks remaining, that trey helping Matsumoto garner top scoring honors for the Ali‘i with 10 points.
Micah Takashige and Isaiah Visoria each netted six points, and Kimo Souza added three points. Joshua Higashi and Elo Badua each ended with pairs and a digit from Shaune Wolfe rounded out the effort.
“It’s not over for these two teams,” said Team Central coach Clarence Sales. “They have to play each other for the championship in another league back on O‘ahu.”
In addition to Watanabe heading the All-Tournament team, Noa Kinimaka (51 points), Visoria (20 points), Souza (16 points), and Wolfe (15 points) were selected from the Ali‘i.
Joshua Burnett (41 points) joined Watanabe from the Sharks. Daniel Reis (29 points) was the sole Kaua‘i player from Hanakila to be named to the all-tourney team.
“The boys played some awesome basketball out there,” said Merv Lopes who flew in for the final day of the tournament that started Thursday night.
