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Keaka Kauhane

Kapaa basketball  •   #5  G  Senior

Keaka Kauhane isn't going to fly under anyone's radar this boys basketball season. 

After earning All-Hawaii Division II First Team honors as a junior a year ago, the Kapaa standout is off to a solid start this winter, which has been quite the whirlwind for Kauhane and his teammates. 

The Warriors (11-3 overall, 2-0 league) played a barnstorming preseason schedule that included three separate trips to Oahu for tournaments and a few standalone games. In all, they played against a dozen Oahu teams and went 9-3 in the process. 

Kauhane, a 5-foot-11 guard and third-year starter, has been a big factor into Kapaa's success. The son of the head coach is averaging 17.4 points; He has netted double-figures in all but three games and put up 30 points in a win over Damien two days after Thanksgiving as part of the Black & Gold Classic hosted by McKinley.  

"He's the only third-year player on the team and the only one with any experience in the state tournament," Kamahalo Kauhane said of the youngest of his four sons. 

The Warriors won the Kauai Interscholastic Federation back in the 2021-2022 season — when Keaka Kauhane was a sophomore — and were the No. 4 seed in the eight-team D2 state tournament. They drew Maui Prep, which pulled away from Kauhane and crew, 75-50, in the quarterfinal matchup and went on to win its first state championship. 

Keaka Kauhane averaged 14.4 points per game that season, but was held to five points on 2-of-8 shooting in that loss. The elder Kauhane said that experience has spurred much growth for Keaka in the time since. 

"He had a hard time understanding how to respond to the scouting and game planning that Maui Prep had done on us and he admits that, but his maturity level really kicked in between his sophomore to junior season and now he's able to understand playing in different numbers and situations, evolving to what the talent around him can do," Kamahalo Kauhane said. 

Keaka Kauhane is the lone player on the roster remaining from that Kapaa team — which went on to win its next two games and claim fifth place at states — but isn't left to shoulder the load of responsibility all by himself. Coach Kauhane noted the contributions of fellow captain Tristen Scully and Reimel Camacho, whose development as a reliable point guard has allowed Keaka Kauhane to slide over to shooting guard at times. 

"Reimel is a lefty and is one of the boys that Keaka's been learning how to play off of and we've been asking Reimel to run the point because of his skills that he has and Keaka is more of a point guard, but he's stepping up and learning how to play in that shooting guard position and I think he's grown and is able to watch from an area that it helps them to strengthen the concept for our team as a whole," Kauhane said. 

The Warriors feature four seniors, seven juniors and two sophomores. Among the new additions to the squad is 6-foot-4 Aidan "AJ" Johnson, a transfer from the Peach State. 

"He just showed up on our doorstep at Kapaa from Atlanta, Georgia, but it's a fairly new bunch of guys who have been trying to figure out their roles. It's a young, dynamic team and it's been fun to see these guys evolve and develop their chemistry with one another and definitely build some trust out there," coach Kauhane said. 

The rigorous preseason slate surely helped expedite the jelling process for Kauhane's bunch. 

"Being on those trips and spending all that time together, they're living together, they're eating together and through all of that they're developing the relationships that hopefully will help us become more cohesive on the court, too, so these guys have been working hard and putting in the work," Kauhane said. 

After barely losing out on the KIF title and a return trip to the state tournament last year, the Warriors opened up league play with a pair of wins over Kauai and Waimea last week. As expected, Keaka Kauhane played a key role in both victories. 

Against the Red Raiders Thursday, Kauhane tallied a game-high 23 points to help his team rally from an eight-point halftime deficit to a 62-53 win. Two nights later he scored 17 points as the Warriors again came from behind for a 49-44 road win over the Menehunes. 

"Keaka definitely turned it on on both sides — offense and defense — in both games. In that first half against Kauai we struggled to get players sealed and box out and we gave up too many (second-chance) opportunities and offensively we weren't making the shots that we normally make, but we knew it was going to be a grind out there and in the second half we kind of settled in and cleaned stuff up and got back to executing what we needed to execute and just doing the basics," Kauhane said. 

Between the two games last week, Keaka Kauhane shot a perfect 9 for 9 from the free-throw line and has made 88.5 percent (54 of 61) from the stripe this season. It's an area of his game that Kauhane has worked to improve upon. Coach Kauhane noted that with limited gym availability, his players have taken it upon themselves to routinely get in morning shooting sessions as early as 5:30 a.m. 

"They work hard on their shooting and it's been reflective so far of their hard work. The game has evolved with five fouls in each quarter (before teams are awarded with two free throws per infraction) and so we've seen how that has impacted the game," Kauhane said. 

Keaka Kauhane's progression hasn't come without hard work. Since he transferred back home after spending his freshman (COVID) year at Kamehameha-Kapalama, Kauhane has made great strides with his skillset and his mental approach to the game under the eye of his watchful coach/father. 

"He has different gears, he plays with pace and is a point guard first in that he wants to make the right play to get the ball to the right person in the right situation. He'll lead by example and he wanted to improve on his defense and worked hard on that during the summer and his leadership has also gotten stronger as a second-year captain," coach Kauhane said. 

To be sure, Kamahalo Kauhane is relishing the journey of his final season coaching his youngest son. 

"I think I'm just enjoying that he and the rest of the team is enjoying the game and the opportunity that they get to play before their families and their community, it's been magical for me to see. When I look back, I kind of expected that I'd be harder on him, (but) I think I've been able to step back and be comfortable with how he's leading out there and we talk often so that's a blessing, whether it's the rides in at 5:30 a.m. or the late nights riding back home after the game, there's a lot of talking that's been happening, which is a blessing for me in itself," Kamahalo Kauhane said. 

Keaka Kauhane and the Warriors return to action Thursday night against Island School before they visit Kauai Saturday. 

BOYS BASKETBALL

Anthony Bautista, Pearl City — Scored 28 points in a win over Waialua 

Jayah Bayol, Lahainaluna — Scored 19 points, including six 3-pointers, in a loss to Kamehameha-Maui 

Kai Bogle-Dupuis, Kalani — Scored 20 points in a win over Kaimuki 

Blaise Brumaghim, Roosevelt — Scored 20 points in a loss to Kailua 

Zion Donnell, Nanakuli — Scored 17 points in a win over Radford 

Timothy Dorn, Mililani — Scored 27 points in a win over Kapolei 

Josh Ellis, Campbell — Scored 21 points in a loss to Leilehua 

Roman Gabriel, Mililani — Scored 21 points in a win over Campbell 

Excel Jury, Waianae — Scored 19 points in a win over Waialua 

Kache Kaio, Kahuku — Scored 20 points in a win over Kaiser 

Layden Kauka, Kohala — Scored 24 points with 11 rebounds, five steals, one assist and a block in a win over Hilo 

Dylan Kula, Baldwin — Scored 18 points in a win over Maui 

Dylan Kunz, Kailua — Scored 19 points, including five 3-pointers, in a win over Kaiser 

Kelani Lewis, Waimea — Scored 17 points in a win over Island School 

Daysen Lupica, Kaimuki — Scored 17 points in a loss to Kalani and scored 23 points in a win over Farrington 

Logan Mason, Mid-Pacific — Scored 23 points with seven rebounds and one block in a loss to Los Alamitos 

Keanu Meacham, Saint Louis — Scored 18 points in a win over Chaminade 

Taylor Moku, Aiea — Scored 17 points in a loss to Radford 

Abraham Ogata, Konawaena — Scored 21 points in a win over Keaau 

Stefan Ognjanovic, Aiea — Scored 21 points in a loss to Radford 

Maurice Patton, Aiea — Scored 17 points in a win over Waipahu 

Maddox Pung, Kailua — Scored 20 points in a win over Roosevelt and scored 23 points in a win over Kaiser 

Joshua Rego, Kauai — Scored 25 points in a win over Island School 

Heimana Richmond, Farrington — Scored 22 points in a loss to Kaimuki 

Joshua Schutter, Kalaheo — Scored 19 points in a win over Farrington 

Luke Seno, Kalani — Scored 21 points in a win over Kaimuki 

Eli Shibuya, Hawaii Baptist — Scored 20 points in a loss to Mission Viejo

Lucas Summerhays, Island School — Scored 18 points in a loss to Kauai 

Skyler Unten, Kailua — Scored 18 points in a win over Roosevelt 

Ayndra Uperesa-Thomas, Punahou — Scored 17 points with 11 rebounds, five assists and one steal in a win over San Diego

Caden Williams, Radford — Scored 32 points in a win over Aiea 

BOYS SOCCER

Ammon Akinaka, Kahuku — Scored two goals in a win over Kalaheo 

Logan Aurio, Kapolei — Scored two goals in a win over Leilehua 

Brent Bersabal, Farrington — Scored two goals in a win over Kaimuki 

Kai Martin, Mililani — Scored three goals in a win over Waialua 

Brody Person, Kailua — Scored three goals in a win over Kalaheo 

Sye Sandobal, Aiea — Scored three goals in a win over Waipahu 

Tayte Sato, Kaiser — Scored four goals in a win over Farrington 

Rheanna Nobleza

Moanalua basketball  •   #1  G  Junior

Adapt and learn. That's what Rheanna Nobleza and the Moanalua girls basketball team has had to learn to do this winter. 

After a severe knee injury in the offseason sidelined veteran guard Braylee Riturban for her senior season, Na Menehune were left without their floor general who was expected to start at point guard for the third straight year. 

In fact, Moanalua was set to return all five starters from last year's squad that put together a 12-3 league record and qualified for the state tournament. 

"We returned everybody, so when Braylee went down it was like we were missing that piece of the puzzle and the rest of the starters were like, ‘What direction are we going?,' Na Menehune coach Kirk Ronolo said. 

It was a question that the veteran coach pondered in his own mind. 

"To be honest, I didn't even know how we were gonna do this, then we started looking at having (Nobleza) be our starting point guard, but from a coach's perspective I knew that I would lose a lot of scoring production from her if we made that move so we had to wait to get to the season and see how it played out," Ronolo added. 

Whichever way it shook out, Ronolo knew that Nobleza would have to play a pivotal role. He mentioned that the additions of newcomers Tenaya Daniels and Shanti Castillo to the backcourt have provided some relief. 

"Those transfers came in and they've helped fill the void that Braylee left. I don't have just a point guard, but I have girls that can handle the ball and bring it up and allow us to flow into our offense. We have girls who can fulfill being a point guard so I can kind of utilize them in different opportunities, different play sets and that allows us to move (Nobleza) to shooting guard and use somebody else to bring the ball up," Ronolo explained. 

Of course, the Menes still have their fair share of experience aside from Nobleza, mainly post Shailoh Liilii and wing Acacia Mateo, both of whom earned All-Oahu Interscholastic Association Eastern Division First Team recognition as juniors last season. 

"Obviously our game plan is always to go inside to Shailoh, but once defenses start collapsing on her, I told the rest of the girls that it's going to space things out for them to get some open looks. All the girls obviously miss Braylee, but I think they've adjusted well," Ronolo said. 

After the initial disappointment and sadness set in, Riturban's teammates set to work on filling the void that she left behind. 

"We knew that we couldn't dwell on it and we've gotta just keep the positive energy, be enthusiastic and do our best to fill that void, which means everybody's gotta step up and take on a bigger role now and they've adapted well," said Ronolo, whose team took part in three preseason tournaments. 

Moanalua struggled to a 2-8 record during its non-league portion of its schedule, but has since rolled to five straight wins to open up OIA East play. 

"It took us a while to get rolling this preseason. I don't usually like to play a lot of preseason tournaments, but this year we had a lot of preseason games and not enough practices so I think we started getting into our groove late and now we're hitting our stride," Ronolo expressed. 

Na Menehune began the regular season with a 42-24 win over Roosevelt back on Dec. 14. It followed that up with a 49-38 win at Kaiser, followed by a 55-4 drubbing of Kaimuki three days later. 

In wins over Farrington and Kalani last week, Nobleza scored in double figures both nights. She had a game-high 16 points with a couple of 3-pointers in a 49-27 win over the Governors Wednesday night. Nobleza hit four triples Friday night and finished with 16 points in the 55-39 victory over the Falcons, second only to Liilii's 19 points. 

Ronolo said the team worked in a new offense just days prior to its matchup against Farrington. 

"I told (Nobleza) and (Mateo) that I was going to call on them for our shooting and that they were going to get a lot of open opportunities in this offense and it opened up for them so Rheanna had a good game," Ronolo said. 

The new changes played out once again in the way Ronolo had hoped against Kalani, which was coming off of a 13-point road win at Kaiser two nights prior. 

"I was very impressed with the way we executed our offense because we haven't been executing well and we've been on the girls are fine-tuning and executing our offense and (Nobleza) executed and did what was asked of her and as a team we executed well and luckily came out with a W," Ronolo said. 

The 5-foot-6 Nobleza, a third-year starter herself, was a Third Team All-OIA East selection a year ago. She flashed a glimpse of her potential this preseason when she poured in five 3-pointers and scored 21 points in a loss to San Juan Hills (San Juan Capistrano, California) in the Punahou-hosted Paani Invitational. 

"If she's not our best shooter, she's one of them. She's got good length, she has a beautiful shot and she's good off the dribble," Ronolo described. "She can attack the basket, she can finish with left or right handed and her defense has improved over the past two years. She's very coachable, she listens, pays attention, is respect and is just a coach's player, but I think what makes her special is her love for the game. She loves the game, she puts in the work, she works hard, she's committed, she wants to improve and she has ambition to keep getting better."

While Nobleza's work ethic is no-nonsense, her demeanor off the court tends to be more playful. 

"She's quirky, silly, likes to have fun. Her and Shailoh are the two always making TikTok videos, so she's still happy-go-lucky and she knows when it's time to work but she still has that quirky side to her that keeps the happy energy," Ronolo shared. 

Nobleza and Na Menehune (7-8 overall, 5-0 league) return to the hardwood Thursday night against McKinley and Saturday against Anuenue. 

Moanalua's schedule is back-loaded with games against fellow-undefeated teams Kailua (Jan. 16) and at Kahuku (Jan. 18) to close out the 11-game regular season. 

"I think our girls are coming together, hitting our marks and hopefully we're in stride when we face Kahuku at Kahuku and then going into the playoffs," Ronolo said. 

Tip-off for the Menes' games against the Tigers and Na Koa this week are both scheduled for 7 p.m. 

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Kalena Akinaka, Kekaulike — Scored 17 points in a loss to Kamehameha-Maui 

Isabelle Baker, Kaiser — Scored 15 points in a loss to Kalani 

Naiara Bal, Maui — Scored 25 points in a win over Baldwin 

Julissa Bollinger, Radford — Scored 18 points in a win over Waipahu 

Juseana Rae Delatori, Lahainaluna — Scored 17 points in a win over Maui 

Alesha DeWeever, Pearl City — Scored 15 points in a win over Kapolei 

Lola Donez, Lahainaluna — Scored 21 points in a win over Kamehameha-Maui and scored 27 points in a win over Maui 

Skylyn Fagarang, Kapaa — Scored 18 points in a win over Waimea 

Kaitea Galletes, Konawaena — Scored 14 points in a win over Kohala and scored 17 points in a win over Pahoa 

Tavina Harris, Konawaena — Scored 16 points in a win over Pahoa 

Kiani Hoolulu, Kailua — Scored 35 points, including six 3-pointers, in a win over Castle 

Telia Iaeli, Honokaa — Scored 16 points in a win over Kealakehe 

Jaylynn Kaawaloa-Alidon, Pahoa — Scored 18 points in a win over Hilo 

Cassady Kobayashi, Kalani — Scored 16 points in a win over Kaiser 

Kaanoipua Leilewi, Konawaena — Scored 18 points in a win over Kohala 

Shailoh Liilii, Moanalua — Scored 19 points in a win over Kalani 

Alexus Maae, Kaiser — Scored 18 points in a win over McKinley 

Olivia Malafu, Kapaa — Scored 25 points in a win over Waimea 

Maesha Muaau, Nanakuli — Scored 13 points with 13 rebounds, three steals and one assist in a loss to Pearl City 

Heather Neumann, Baldwin — Scored 15 points in a loss to Maui 

Leila Paraoan, Kapolei — Scored 14 points in a loss to Pearl City 

Makelah Richardson, Roosevelt — Scored 14 points in a loss to McKinley 

Lilyanah-Tiare Tavale, Kapolei — Scored 14 points in a loss to Pearl City and scored 17 points in a win over Waianae 

Rylee Velazquez, Honokaa — Scored 21 points in a win over Kealakehe 

Jirah Villanueva, Radford — Scored 26 points in a win over Leilehua and scored 20 points in a win over Waipahu 

Shanti Rae Visaya, Kamehameha-Maui — Scored 15 points on five 3-pointers in a loss to Lahainaluna 

Tailele Wily-Ava, Kahuku — Scored 17 points in a win over Castle 

Skylar Wu, Maryknoll — Scored 15 points on five 3-pointers in a win over South Kamloops

GIRLS SOCCER

Jada Gonzales, Waipahu — Scored the lone goal in a win over Aiea 

Faith Hines, Kapolei — Scored four goals in a win over Waianae 

Lindsey Kong, Maui — Scored two goals in a win over Lahainaluna 

Brianne Kumashiro, Castle — Scored two goals and assisted on another in a win over Roosevelt 

Sophie Lugo, Kalaheo — Scored three goals in a win over Kailua 

Zoe Maikai, Leilehua — Scored three goals in a win over Radford

Alexyz Nakamoto, Leilehua — Scored three goals in a win over Radford 

Ava Rose Whitmer, Campbell — Scored two goals in a tie with Mililani 

Sayuri Williams, Kapolei — Scored two goals in a win over Leilehua