17U: H1 Thunder 59, Blue Devils 40

Thank God everybody got the message about the time change. We were 7 strong this morning and played one of our better games. Great transition, ball movement, aggressiveness and unselfishness with the perfect balance. A lot of good work on fullcourt defense. Today's lineup: Isaiah Visoria, Jerry Betiru, Cody Ogoso, John Chow, Iamhaka Johnson, Sisifo Lauvao, Kyle Moraga.

That ends the CAL season, but don't forget there's an exhibition game on Friday. It's a referee training night hosted by CAL. We play 7:10 pm, Kilauea gym against Rising Stars.

WE LUB THIS GAME!

Isaiah Visoria at left. Jerry Betiru at right. 

Cody Ogoso at left. Cameraman Chaz at right. 

Saturday funday

Solid workout in the afternoon with Kapaa Nishimura, Joshua de Jesus, Felcris Jay Corpuz, Hsien Pascua, Walter Berthold. Ballhandling, on-ball defense, jab step, all the basics we could squeeze into about an hour. Job well done, gentlemen!

Wednesday funday

(Posted this on our Facebook page a few days ago. Forgot to post it here until now.)

The passing rains held up just enough for us to have a solid practice. Ballhandling, on-ball defense, fullcourt layup drills, 4-on-4, halfcourt offense work. The guys who were able to stay after practice played 5-on-5 pickup games with the older guys. Three epic games. The old guys barely won the best-of-3 third game 13-12. Some of them told me they couldn't believe the Thunder were all 13-and-under. Sometimes I watch and I can't believe it, too.

Good work today by Kali'a Mielke, Felcris Jay Corpuz, Ryan Higashionna, Jared Elwin, Kapaa Nishimura, Hsien Pascua, Kyle Moraga and Dwayne Perez.

Next: Saturday, 2:00 pm, practice, Makiki Park. Then 17U plays Sunday 11:10 am at Kilauea gym.

WE LUB THIS GAAAME!!

Sunday game time changed to 9:30 am

GET THE WORD OUT! Sunday's 17U game is 9:30 am, not 11:10 am. CAL League had to change the schedule to accommodate some other teams. I didn't see the change until just now (via e-mail).

Repeat: Sunday's 17U game is 9:30 am at Kilauea gym. Please be there an hour early to stretch and warm up. WE LUB THIS GAME!

Call me 551-1054 or Coach Roy 284-1643 for ride.

Note: I couldn't get ahold of everybody when I discovered this change late last night. I lost a bunch of cell numbers when my old phone died. Hopefully everyone gets the message this morning.

Car wash: your input?

Talked with the manager at McCully Union Station. The next available car wash dates aren't until December. Here's what they have open on weekends. I don't want to put down a $325 deposit until I get consensus from all our parents and players.

Saturdays: Dec. 7, 14, 21, 28.
Sundays: Dec. 1, 22, 29.

There is nothing open in November. I mentioned to some of our parents that I've seen the station open with no car wash on some Sundays in the past two months, when the dates had been reserved. The manager told me today that other people had reserved and paid deposits, but didn't show up.

Let me know which dates work best and we'll go full bore with fundraising. Also, I'd like to sell our H1 Thunder T-shirts, so let me know what sizes you would like to order/sell to friends, family, co-workers. Not a bad Christmas present, I say!

Monday funday

Excellent workout today at Makiki Park with some old faces and new. Some basics: ballhandling, conditioning, shooting and scrimmage (4-on-4). Today's crew: Kapaa Nishimura, Ryan Higashionna, Kyle Moraga, Javan Montiho, Kali'a Mielke, Chris Afeand Tanielu Mosi Afe.

There's an old saying: Character is what you do when nobody's watching. Kapaa has no games to play, but comes to every practice possible. Javan has football on Sundays (game days), but he makes it to practice when he can. Chris and Tani are busy on Saturdays (football) and can't come on Sundays (usually), but they wanted to practice since their teams have byes this week.

I'm looking forward to (hopefully) having some exhibition games for us to play in the next month or two, and maybe an off-island tournament, and then CAL and PAA in January. We had fun working hard today. 

Note: We did our fullcourt layup drill and Tanielu Mosi Afe broke the record held by Hsien Pascua (4.77). Tani did times of 4.72, 4.68 and 4.56.

Next: Wednesday, 5:00 pm, practice at Makiki Park. 17U are always welcome.

WE LUB THIS GAAAAME!

13U: Sharks 45, H1 Thunder 39

We led for about 3 quarters against a tall, quick team. Their press gave us layup opportunities, but at times we weren't patient and turned the ball over. That's something that comes with experience and mistakes. Hopefully, we keep learning. But we were shorthanded, especially on the boards. Jared Elwin would've helped a lot, but's out until the stitches over his right eye heal.Kyle Moraga and Kali'a Mielke were warriors under the basket, great job boxing out against the tall guys. Good battle. I'm not happy about a loss, but I'm stoked about the effort and heart. When the needle hits empty, you know the guys have done their best. Today's lineup: Joshua de Jesus, Hsien Pascua, Walter Berthold, Ryan Higashionna, Micah Visoria, Kyle and Kali‘a.

Josh hit big 3s for us today. His shot is back, officially. Hsien continues to learn on the job, excellent defense and a great attitude about learning. Micah also hit a couple of big 3s against a tall man-to-man defense. I wish we'd freed him up a few more times for open looks. (V-Ray anybody?) Walter gave us some good minutes off the bench and handled their three-quarter (2-2-1) press pretty good while he was in. Ryan had good moments but also will have to learn to use his fake more and be willing to be aggressive when he gets taller guys in the air. That will come with time. He's 11. 

Kyle and Kali‘a banged under the boards and boxed out very, very well. They just didn't have much help since we had a small lineup today. They played with heart and set the tone for our guys. We still have much to learn from, much to grow into, like playing with composure under pressure. That's why we keep playing. We learn more from the errors. That is the hope. 

That completes our 13U season in the Compete & Learn League. We went 5-3 with a very young lineup on most days. This team played without Tanielu and Chris most times (football/rest days), and Manoa was too old to be eligible. And no Kapaa. Javan was busy with football, leaving us with one less fullcourt defender/3-point shooter. But our guys, almost all guards, held down the fort quite well. We're only going to get better. 

Next: Monday, 5:00 pm, Practice, Makiki Park. 200+ a day. WE LUB THIS GAME!

17U: H1 Thunder 50, Hoops4Christ 36

Great job passing and moving the ball against H4C's zone. We got a lot of tips and layups. We still look a little rusty at times, but we have a great effort. Kyle Moraga and Kali'a Mielke sat the final quarter. Saved their legs for the 13U game. Today's lineup: Sisifo Lauvao, Isaiah Visoria, Brent Quackenbush, Iamhaka Johnson, Jerry Betiru, Cody Ogoso, Kyle and Kali‘a.

Isaiah rebounded, defended, rebounded again over and over, and his mid-range J was on. High post offense. Jerry hit three treys in a row at one point. Brent - I hadn't seen him play in a long time. He's still growing, still springy, long arms and aggressive to the basket. Haka's defense and transition offense are still excellent. He's a little rusty, but coming back strong from the foot injury. Sifo's versatility was a plus again, low post, wing, willing to go anywhere. Cody ran the break well and stretched the other team's defense with his range. Kyle and Kali‘a were solid in limited minutes.

Next: Thunder 17U vs. Boom, Sunday, Oct. 13, 11:10 am, Kilauea gym. 

Sunday ballgames

Next: Thunder 17U vs. Hoops4Christ, Sunday, 1:00 pm, Kilauea gym. Warmups 12 noon, outside court.

Then Thunder 13U vs. Sharks, Sunday, 1:50 pm, Kilauea gym. We need everybody, full force. Jared Elwin just got stitches on his right eye and will not play.

Call me 551-1054 or Coach Roy 284-1643 for rides.

Sunday's lineups
17U (CAL)
Isaiah Visoria - yes
John Chow - yes
Cody Ogoso - don't know
Sierra Murobayashi - don't know
Kyle Moraga - yes
Brent Quackenbush - don't know
Sisifo Lauvao - yes
Keanu Pratt - yes
Tanielu Afe - don't know
Chris Afe - don't know
Mick Colling - no
Manoa Kualii-Moe - don't know
Kali‘a Mielke - don't know
Jerry Killion - don't know
Jerry Betiru - don't know

13U (CAL)
Kyle Moraga - yes
Kali‘a Mielke - yes
Tanielu Mosi Afe - don't know
Chris Afe - don't know
Jared Elwin - no (injury)
Joshua de Jesus - don't know
Felcris Jay Corpuz - don't know
Ryan Higashionna - yes
Javan Montiho - no (football)
Hsien Pascua - don't know

Kapaa Nishimura not eligible for CAL games. Manoa not eligible for CAL 13U games.

Saturday funday

No net, no problem. 3 strong for practice on Saturday afternoon: Ryan Higashionna, Kapaa Nishimura and Walter Berthold. A solid hour of ballhandling, shooting and more shooting. Mastering the floater. Perimeter footwork to the basket. 3-point shooting. Free-throw shooting. There's overdribbling and limitation for the players who don't work every day. There's efficiency and precision for ballers who work daily. WE LUB THIS GAAAME!

Next: Thunder 17U vs. Hoops4Christ, Sunday, 1:00 pm, Kilauea gym. Warmups 12 noon, outside court.

Then Thunder 13U vs. Sharks, Sunday, 1:50 pm, Kilauea gym. We need everybody, full force. Jared Elwin just got stitches on his right eye and will not play.

Thunder 17U: Game tonight! (Friday)

HEADS UP!
Thunder 17U has a game tonight (Friday), 8:00 pm against Rising Stars. This was an addition/change to the new schedule that I didn't see last week. (This game was supposed to be last week and the league switched it.)

So be at Kilauea by 7:00 pm. Coach Larry and Coach Roy will be in charge. I have to be at the stadium for work. Go Thunderrr! If you need a ride, call Coach Roy (284-1643).

Wednesday funday

Solid workout today, 6 strong plus Dwayne. Today's crew: Kali'a Mielke, Kyle Moraga, Felcris Jay Corpuz, Ryan Higashionna, Hsien Pascua, Felcris Ahadain, Joshua de Jesus (Josh). Ran some laps, did some UCLA play drills, then spent the next hour scrimmaging 3-on-3. Kyle, Ryan and Josh beat Kali‘a, Hsien and Felcris 34-22 (halfcourt, 10-minute halves). Then Kali‘a, Hsien and Ryan edged Kyle, Felcris and Josh 34-33.

The 3-on-3 with an emphasis on UCLA passes and cuts helped build better timing.

Post-practice: 100 3-point shots each for Hsien, Felcris, Kyle. Good work, Thunder!

Next:
Saturday, 2:00 pm - Practice at Makiki Park.

Sunday, 1:00 pm - Thunder 17U vs. Hoops4Christ, Kilauea gym. Warmups 12 pm, Kilauea gym outside court.

Sunday, 1:50 pm - Thunder 13U vs. Sharks, Kilauea gym.

Forgot to post this earlier. This is from Monday.

Monday funday
Excellent workout this afternoon at Makiki Park. Perfect weather: hardly any wind, partly cloudy, dry court. Kali'a Mielke, Jared Elwin and Kapaa Nishimura got lots of basic shooting work in, plus post footwork, 3-point shooting. It's all about volume and reps when we have a small turnout, and it is always a plus for the guys to get those 200+ shots in. Building to success, one shot, one workout, one day at a time. I lub to see it!

WE LUB THIS GAAAME!