David Ovbagbedia led Hawaii Prep with a team-high 12 points in a title match against Kalani. Tyler Kanoa | Special to SL

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Kalani's Ace Faumui led the Falcons with a team-high 12 points. Evan Asato | SL

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Hawaii Prep Academy pose together for a group photo after winning the HHSAA Div. II basketball state championship title. Tyler Kanoa | Special to SL

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Hawaii Prep Academy poses with their HHSAA Div. II state championship trophy after a victory over Kalani. Evan Asato | SL

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Melissa Ing, Scott Nishi | SL

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Sat, Feb 22, 2014 @ Blaisdell

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Hawaii Prep

42

Kalani

33

Final	1	2	3	4
Hawaii Prep (12-1, 17-3)	10	11	11	10	42
Kalani (5-6, 12-16)	7	5	10	11	33

• Points
• Rebounds
• Assists

A. Faumui 12 pts

D. Ovbagbedia 12 pts

A. Faumui 7 tot  4 off  3 def

D. Ovbagbedia 11 tot  4 off  7 def

J. Yamauchi 2 ast

J. Gecas 2 ast

HONOLULU – Third time’s the charm.

After three straight Division II state tournament appearances, Hawaii Prep Ka Makani claimed their first state title in school history with a 42-33 win over Kalani in the Hawaiian Airlines/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II Boys Basketball Championships at the Neal Blaisdell Center Saturday night. 

“We talked about the little stuff, the daily things. This is an amazing group of kids,” Hawaii Prep coach Fred Wawner said on their long journey to the championship. “We kind of knew we weren’t ready the first year we was over here (with) the bright lights. Last year we really felt like we were one step away from being in the (championship) game.

“This year we didn’t talk about winning the championship, we talked about honoring each other by working really hard everyday. We felt like we had a pretty good plan, we certainly had some talented guys. Just really a humble group; it’s really a gift (to coach) with these guys working so well.”

What makes their championship run so remarkable is the fact that there were many obstacles that they needed to get over to reach this point. First, they had to deal with losing shooting guard Kalen Camero for the postseason. Second, in order for Ka Makani to enter the eight-team state tournament, they needed to win a play-in game against University High on Monday, since they loss to Kohala in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division II title game. 

“It means a lot, we worked really hard for it,” said Hawaii Prep senior David Ovbagbedia. “We’re all really excited, it’s amazing. I don’t even know the words to say, it’s beautiful.” 

The loss of Camero for the postseason really left a void for Hawaii Prep. Carrying the load in the backcourt in Camero's absence was point guard Justas Gecas. The 6-foot junior chipped in eight points with six rebounds and four assists.

“Coach just told me to do my job, be aggressive, be a leader on the court and try to do my best,” Gecas said on stepping up. 

“He’s a tough kid, you guys saw it,” Wawner added on Gecas. “He just solves things by outworking guys. Tonight he brought the ball up all game long. He’s a tough kid. He carried the rock for us the last two games or so.”

A big factor in Hawaii Prep’s win can be attributed to their size advantage. Ovbagbedia and Ka Makani won the rebounding battle, 39-21, getting 23 of those on the offensive glass.

“It was really big,” Ovbagbedia said on winning the rebounding battle. “It gave us a lot of second chance opportunities. (We) got some points from that.”

In addition to their defensive prowess, Hawaii Prep’s frontcourt was dominant on offense also. The frontcourt trio of Ovbagbedia, Evaldas Vegertas and Nicky Palleschi combined for 27 points on 55 percent shooting (11-for-20).

“It was huge. It had to go that way for us to be successful – where we were getting the ball inside a lot,” said Wawner. “It’s not pretty, but we knew if we kept banging the boards and got the ball in the post, that eventually it would soften up a little bit (inside).”

On the other hand, their opposition, Kalani, is the complete opposite of Hawaii Prep. The Falcons are primarily a finesse team, using their quickness and perimeter shooting to attack opponents. However, their outside shot was not falling at all this game, going 3-for-17 from beyond the arc for 17.6 percent shooting. Ka Makani also did a good job of limiting Kalani’s Brandon Roberts, who finished with seven points on a dismal 2-of-18 shooting. Roberts was averaging 15.6 points per game in the Falcons’ eight previous games.

“Shooting the three is something that got us here, it’s not something that we want to take out of our game,” said Kalani coach Nathan Davis. “We just didn’t shoot it particular well; it’s definitely different than playing in a school gym.”

Even when their bread and butter weren’t working, the Falcons found ways to stay in the game. Kalani reserve Ace Faumui turned in an impressive all-around performance, scoring 12 points with seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and four steals.

“He’s a hell of a player and he’s really also an awesome person,” Davis said on Faumui. “He’s really level headed, he’s funny (and) he’s outgoing. You can coach him really hard, he’s not sensitive about that thing. I think players that want to be great understand that they need to be coached hard. To his credit, he allows us to do that every single day.”

Gecas got the things going with a tough drive to the hoop to start the game. Kalani’s Jaron Yamauchi was able to answer with a runner in the lane to make the score tied 2-all early on.

Both teams’ offenses stalled for a bit for the next few minutes, but Ka Makani was able to gather extra possessions thanks to their offensive rebounding ability. Hawaii Prep recorded 11 offensive rebounds in the opening period, which allowed them to take a 10-7 lead heading into the second quarter.

“We all had to be really aggressive, we really had to get the boards, defensive and offensive,” said Ovbegbadia.

Ka Makani followed the same blue print to close out the first half, taking a nine-point lead at the break. Ovbegbadia’s three-point play just before the end of the first half gave Hawaii Prep a 21-12 lead.

By then the lead was already substantially. Kalani would make runs to cut the lead down, even getting the lead down to seven at one point, but could never really sustain any of their momentum. Whenever the Falcons had a little hope, Hawaii Prep would always make the necessary stops and baskets to keep them at bay.

“We just know that defense, rebounding is most important,” said Hawaii Prep Kellen Gillins. “We know that we have to stop the runs with defense before we can do anything on offense. (Kalani’s) a great team on offense so we knew we had to work extra hard on defense and (secure) the rebounds.” 

Ka Makani was able to push their led up after every quarter, winning by the final score of 42-33.

“It’s huge,” Gecas said after the game. “As you know, it’s the first time in school history and the first in the final. (This is) the first time we’ve won the championship."

HAWAIIAN AIRLINES/HHSAA DIV. II BOYS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Division II All-Tournament Team
Justin Gecas, Hawaii Prep
Cameron King, Seabury Hall
Mikala Jordan, Kohala
Nicky Palleschi, Hawaii Prep
Brandon Roberts, Kalani
Most Outstanding Player: David Ovbagbedia, Hawaii Prep