Josh De Jesus, Ryan Higashionna, Jason Doyle, Jonah Gormley, Chaz Enos (front), Micah Visoria, Felcris Ahadain.
Intermediate Division MVP
Jonah Gormley
(with dad Joel)
## 2015 Maui Summer Classic Intermediate Champions: H1 Thunder ##
Hard-earned 41-38 win over #1 seed Upcountry Elite at Lahaina Civic Center. proud of our 7 Thunder, playing 7 games in intermediate division and 6 in JV division - 44-minute games in pool play. Heart and bball IQ go a long way.
Congratulations to the Thunder boys for giving their complete effort each day of the long tournament. They were drained by the end of each day. They battled illness (Micah) and injury (Mosi). They put up with a coach who was nonstop, relentlessly demanding more and more and more.
Traveling on the road and winning championships is never easy. Since we started flying to tournaments in the summer, our guys have demonstrated a unique ability to rise above any adversity, to unify and rise to a new level. As a group, they become something extraordinary. Just kids who love basketball and have a true mutual respect for each other that transcends what most children their age grasp. I know that sounds wordy. But I saw it in our 13U team in 2013 in Anaheim and Las Vegas. I saw it in 2014 with our 14U squad at Kona. I saw it the past week with our Intermediate team.
So congratulations to our Thunder squad. I know the Thunder who couldn't make the trip would've had just as much fun in both JV and Intermediate Divisions. Competition at the Maui Summer Classic was solid with a lot of tall teams. Depth was a factor and our lack of depth didn't hold us back.
Congratulations also to Jonah, who was named the division MVP by the tournament director, Marcus Rogers. Jonah was a huge force for us defensively, taking on the toughest defensive assignment when needed, running the floor for layups and providing the all-around skill set that our guys all have — a necessity when there are 6-4 and 6-2 bigs trying to protect the rim.
I've said this before, and it's always going to be true: We basically have five guards on the floor, all capable of starting an offense, hitting from deep, setting picks, rolling or popping, posting up, resetting when an optimum shot isn't there. Jonah has learned a lot about the system in a matter of months, and his athleticism and work ethic on defense are big pluses. But what makes Jonah and all our players reach toward their potential is the right attitude about every detail in games and practices. Some kids who are 12 or 13 have it. Some don't.
In my book, all five of our Intermediate starters this past week were each an MVP. Jonah would've been a standout on any team from Maui, Cali or Oahu. The case would've been the same for Micah, Ryan, Josh D and Felcris. Micah was our "Glue" man, a baller with blue-collar toughness that makes him more valuable than a standard shooting guard or low-post guy. He stretches defenses with his fundamentally-sound shooting form. He can drive and finish against big men, usually spotting an open teammate for a 3 when the lane is congested. He runs the floor and can direct the fastbreak when he has the ball. Defensively, he's strong and can battle the 6-3, 250-pound bigs in the paint, and still switch to the perimeter and cover quick guards. And he did it despite an illness and dehydration during the last few days of the tournament. I didn't think he'd play in the playoffs (he sat out the quarterfinal round in JV and Inter play), but he found a way to get on the court. Incredible toughness and heart for his teammates.
Ryan was our leading rebounder, our lead guard (along with Felcris) and a blur on the fullcourt press. I never thought about him as the back man on the press until he suggested it (he suggests a lot of brilliant ideas), and he can turn a game around (and does) with his explosiveness, anticipation and steals from that spot. But his value goes way beyond that. He's been a Thunder lockdown defender since he was 11 and playing with the 13U squad, then the JV and Intermediate teams and later our Varsity unit. When he was 11, for some reason I kept thinking he was 12 — and I thought this for a long time! I don't know how to statistically measure what he means to us. I just know he has a vast knowledge of the game and puts his teammates first, so much so that I sometimes remind him to be aggressive and look for his shot on penetration. It's a good problem to have, a five-position player who wants success for his teammates before himself, but he knows that they succeed even more when he is consistently aggressive and keeping defenders guessing about his passes. When he's not around because of school games and practices, we miss him greatly.
Josh De Jesus goes back a long way, too. He came to us at the same time as Felcris, when they befriended Chris and Mosi after the brothers moved from Makiki to Kalihi (Kalakaua Middle School). Josh has been busy with other things, helping his mom and uncle, but he still committed to the trip. He almost didn't come because he was ashamed about not making most of the fundraisers. But we'll work that out going forward in future fundraisers. He's a hard worker once he's at a fundraiser or on the practice and game court. His defense was insanely good at the tournament, constantly deflecting passes and covering ballhandlers with excellent lateral footwork and most of all, DETERMINATION. His clutch shooting was a big factor in our comeback win over a big Southside's Finest team in the quarterfinal round. He had a sore shooting elbow (funny bone) to start the tourney, but overcame that to become one of the Classic's top players.
Tanielu Mosi Afe was an assistant coach for our Intermediate team. He led by example, the only player older than 8th grade on our JV unit, playing his heart out and always backing up his teammates. During our Intermediate playoff games, he never stopped encouraging our Thunder. You cannot measure the importance and value of someone like Mosi, who almost didn't make the trip due to an injury. He played through a different injury during the tourney; it wasn't serious enough to sit out, but it was definitely giving him some pain each game, each day. But when our Intermediate guys were running out of gas, being a 7-man team, Mosi was there to pump them up in his own special way. He not only loves his teammates no matter what age they are, he embraces the role of being a leader.
(And yes, if we had just one or two more of our JV guys at Maui, we probably would've reached the title game and won. My humble opinion.)
Jason Doyle came to our team just within the past two months, a friend of the Apuya ohana. Jance Apuya couldn't go on the trip (foot injury), but he blessed us with his friend, Jason, who became a true role player we couldn't do without. He instinctively knows when and where to set picks on our 8-ball and 9-ball plays, always brings the intensity and ferocity in the paint against massively bigger players, and became a huge part of our pressbreaker as the middle man. His skill at that spot helped immensely against teams trying to trap us in halfcourt offense. Great decision maker and learning very, very quickly in our system. Jason gives and gives on and off the court — a great help keeping the dishwasher and washing machine busy in the condo — and hopefully he keeps developing through this fall on the court. Lots of potential.
Felcris Ahadain could not be stopped. A lot of defenders could not contain him at the tourney, and one of his only flaws early on was that he was going so fast on drives that he couldn't slow down enough to get a better quality shot. That changed sometime during the week, and he became a guy who drove through the paint and back out with no trouble to reset the offense. When the defense gave him the gap, he drove and scored. His aggressiveness with the ball was always a spark, and it opened up opportunities for his teammates. The only thing that could slow him down (literally) was a hip bruise on a 3-point drive when he hit the ground with full force on the right hip. He played through the injury, though. He even swished the free throw after the injury. Felcris was tireless. His endurance and that of his teammates was a major, major reason we had enough gas left in the tank to make the title run. I've never seen a group of kids endure like this, running 30+ miles in 13 games in five days.
Chaz Enos quickly became the fans' favorite, always cheered on by the kids working at the scorer's table each day. Chaz just completed the 6th grade and is a sponge, learning the game, studying the game and improving when he gets to practice. No question he can shoot the rock. Nobody got bigger cheers in Lahaina Civic Center than he did when he nailed a 3. Nobody a louder "Aawww!" when he missed. This was, hopefully, a transcendent experience for him, watching older players and teams, playing against them, and figuring out what he can improve on to become a fixture for our future Thunder teams in 11U and 13U.
None of this would've been possible without Joel Gormley. He came to the tourney to watch his son, Jonah, play basketball. But he did everything possible that a Thunder supporter and friend could do, from shooting game video, helping the guys recover from fatigue and tightness in pre-game stretches, driving one of the Scions up and down the Lahaina Coast and occasionally to Wailuku and Kahului. He provided the team a spark each day with his faith and optimism, with his encouragement and great commitment to timeliness and unity.
He was our glue guy off the court.
Big mahalo to Aunty Suzy Pascua. She kept the guys loose with pre-game massages — never underestimate the value of working out the lactic acid buildup caused by 10, 20, 30 miles of running plus jumping — and her sharp sense of humor. She anchored room #415 in our condos, cooking chili, shoyu chicken and most of all, keeping the guys in line if necessary. And it wasn't, but it's good to know that an adult is there to keep everyone grounded and prepared each day.
Win or lose, this was a great experience for our Thunder. Fortunately, the Lord blessed us with good health considering the huge number of games we played, and the Lord blessed us with the energy, willpower, brotherhood and fun it took to get through each game, each win and each obstacle. He provides the provision. We provide the effort and sweat. All our parents who drove the miles, worked hard at our fundraisers, gave and gave and gave beyond the call, you each are a blessing to these Thunder youth. I love you guys.
Big Mahalo to our supporters. Mrs. Chang keeps giving and giving in spirit and in resources. She sees up close what kind of young men and women play for the H1 Thunder and she loves you guys. She's as gracious and tough on you as she was on her own children, and that's something I will always be grateful for. She gives wisdom and blesses us unconditionally. Absolutely unconditionally.
Big Mahalo to Uncle Jimmy of Rainbow Drive In. He's a business man, yes. But without his immense help through the huli chicken fundraiser, we would not have raised the kind of money we needed to make this trip happen, especially for the ones who didn't raise enough (or at all). He told me he'd bill me later, and it's still later. He is more than fair. He saw a small team in the community work hard and work with a spirit of joy at the fundraiser, and I believe he was glad to help. The bill will be and can be paid without a problem. But Uncle Jimmy is not just a business man. He blessed us well beyond what anyone in the business community ever has. Thank you, Jimmy.
Coach Bino, Coach Kalei and Coach Rob carried the load back home while our Intermediate team (and Mosi) were on the road. Thank you, gentlemen, for coaching and keeping the H1 Thunder rolling in the Kalani and Le Jardin leagues.
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