Mililani storms over Wai'anae, 76-39, advances to title game


Mililani's Nayla Long drives into the paint against Waianae. Scott Nishi | SL

WAIPAHU-History will be made when Mililani meets Leilehua in an all-Central O'ahu matchup for the O'ahu Interscholastic Association Red girls' basketball championship Thursday.

Kira Arruda scored a game-high 25 points and the Western Division champion Trojans jumped on Wai'anae, 76-39, in a semifinal Saturday night at Waipahu.

West second seed Leilehua beat Kaimuki, 57-51, in the other semifinal.

The Trojans and Mules will be seeking their first OIA crown. In fact, it will be the Trojans' first title game appearance ever, while the Mules will be in their first since 1980, when they lost to Kahuku, 65-49. Tipoff is set for about 7 p.m. and will be aired on OC 16 (channel 12).

Kaimuki will travel to Wai'anae to play for third place at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Nayla Long added 16 points for the Trojans and played superb defense with seven steals, a block and four defensive rebounds.

"Everybody was on it," Arruda said. "We played everybody on the team and what we did out there was awesome."

Raywyne Atiga led the Seariders with 12 points, the bulk coming on 10-of-14 shooting from the free throw line.


Although this is the farthest advancement of any Mililani girls' basketball team, it isn't celebrating just yet. The Trojans (12-0) can see the bigger picture.

"We have to make sure these girls are ready," Mililani coach Patrick Basilio said. "I think they are. You don't really see them celebrating anything yet. I think they know we still have couple more steps to go…I think they get it. We'll see next practice how they come out."

Mililani ambushed Wai'anae with a full-court press, scoring more than a third of their 29 first-quarter points off of turnovers. In their regular-season meeting, Mililani won handily, but played to a 6-all game after the first quarter. Not this time. The Trojans had six points within the first two minutes.

"The last time we played them, we came out so slow," Basilio said. "They slowed the pace on us and I said, we can't let that happen again. We have to come out (strong.)."

The Trojans bolted to a 29-8 lead after the first quarter en route to 44-17 lead by the half. The Seariders never pulled to within 20 after Kaylee Torres' 3-pointer near the end of the first quarter.

"Tonight, they were on it," Wai'anae coach Cyrilla Manuel said. "They total increased the intensity from the first time we played them."

When Pearl City won the OIA title last year, it snapped an 18-year reign of Eastern Division teams winning the championship.

The White title game between Kalaheo and Kailua will start at 5 p.m. Thursday, also at Waipahu. This game also will be televised on OC 12.

The fifth-place game will be played 6 p.m. Wednesday with Kaiser visiting Roosevelt.

All of the six OIA Red teams have secured Division I state tournament berths.



Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].