This week

As of today (Monday), NJB confirmed that our 17U plays Saturday, 2 p.m., at Palama Gym. The opponent has not been decided yet.

The new schedule has been a whammy for me. I thought we had four games (17U, 16U, 15U) the past weekend, but apparently, I didn't see a game on the new schedule for 15U that was supposed to be on Saturday. The schedule does not list team names. It's all updated code numbers and letters and even though I scoured the pages over and over, I missed it, apparently.

I'm sorry, guys! It sucks that we forfeited a game, both for the guys who would've had fun and it's also money down the drain.

I've asked the league to double check with me on exactly when and where we play from now on. Looking at a bunch of boxes, numbers and letters is tough enough, but even tougher with two teams. We will be on point from now on as long as I ask Stephen Chong and Matt Tsukazaki about the schedule each week (NJB).

Here's the schedule this week.

Monday, 4:30 pm - Practice
Tuesday, 4:30 pm - Practice
Wednesday, 4:30 pm - Practice
Thursday, 4:30 pm - Practice
Friday, 6:45 pm - Game, 16U vs H4C1. Be at Aiea gym by 5:45  for warmups.
Saturday, 1 pm - Game, 15U vs TBA, Palama gym. Be there by noon for warmups.
Saturday, 2 pm - Game, 17U vs TBA, Palama gym. Be there by 1 pm for warmups.
Saturday, 5 pm - Game, 15U vs TBA, Palolo gym. Be there by 4 pm for possible early start.
Sunday, 3 p.m. - Practice (shooting/ballhandling)

I'll have the 15U schedule posted as soon as NJB confirms it, so they might play Friday, Saturday and/or Sunday. Be prepared.

SUMMER HOOPS
We are on the 16U wait list for the Aiea Blazers tournament in June July 13-15. They have an opening in the 18U tourney (July 6-8) if we want to enter that, as well as openings in 14U and 12U. All the age-group divisions play on different weekends.

There's also a Rebelz tournament in early June 8-10 that we have a spot in if we want to play.

July 18-22 is the NJB Summer Classic. Divisions are 17U, 14U and 12U. I'm going to register us for 17U. If we have 14U (June 15-17) and/or 12U (June 8-10), I'll sign us up for that too but we need to know soon. The fee goes up after the deadline.

I have to contact Greydon Espinda of Compete & Learn (CAL) (McKinley shot-clock league) to see if he still has a 15U division. That league normally begins in June.

There's also the possibility of traveling. Kona Stingrays hosts an annual summer tournament. The coaches old friends of mine (I used to live in Kona in the 1990s) and it would be fun. But this requires commitment to fundraisers, so we'll see how much everybody wants to do this.

Also, Pa‘a has a league that will begin in July. They have games in town and also in Kaneohe (Saturdays). Ikaika also has a league, but they run the clock on free throws and I hate that. (Aiea league does this, but they only charge $350.)

Finally, MAHALO to Eric (Jake's dad) and Daniel (Mike's dad) for shooting game video and sharing the footage with the team. I have game video from the past two weekends that needs to be edited. I've been super smashed with work, but now it's slowing down and I have more time to do the videos and practice more. We'll be on the court every day now, still working on the basics as a team, and also individual skills — especially shooting and ballhandling.

Just like old times. I lub this game!