Whether he's draining 3-pointers on the basketball court or playing his viola, there is a certain aesthetic beauty to Ethan Chung's talents. 

Chung, a senior at Punahou School, is a multi-faceted individual whose accolades stretch from the hardwood to the concert hall. In the basketball realm, the 6-foot-6, 190-pound wing is one of the state's most prolific shooters and a bona fide scorer for the defending Division I state champion Buffanblu. When he's not pouring in buckets, Chung lends his talents to the school's orchestra. 

"His mom is big on academics," Punahou basketball coach Darren Matsuda said of Chung, who is in his third varsity season and second as a starter. 

"He gets really good grades, he's really good in music and so it's nice to have a well-rounded kid like that; it's really nice for their family and for our team," Matsuda added. 

Matsuda described the precision in Chung's execution shooting the basketball and likened it to what is required of him when he's got the viola and bow in his hands. 

"Definitely. I think when he's in rhythm and he's really focused on his routine — his following through, his feet — it's all going in. For all elite shooters, it's about making sure you get the little things right and when he does that, it's almost always going in," Matsuda said. 

Chung's two worlds nearly collided last weekend when the Buffanblu had an afternoon matchup against Kailua on the final day of the Raymond Fujino Invitational and Punahou's orchestra was set to perform a concert in the early evening. 

Chung played a major role in what turned out to be a 72-70 win for the Buffanblu. He tallied 24 points but was unable to finish out the overtime contest. After he knocked down a trio of free throws with nine seconds left in regulation, Chung promptly gathered his belongings and jolted for the exit, where his father was already waiting for him. 

"He had an orchestra concert that he couldn't miss for a class, so he had to leave," Matsuda chuckled. 

Matsuda explained that Chung had a ‘drop-dead' departure time, but "I think he went past it a little bit. 

"It was an inopportune time, but he had to go. The good thing is the team pulled through," Matsuda said. 

Chung's teammate, Tanoa Scanlan, hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the left corner to send it into overtime. Koen Makinano did all the scoring for the Buffanblu in the extra period and they managed to hold off the Surfriders for the Fujino Invitational title. 

In Punahou's three games at Kaimuki last week, Chung averaged 21.3 points and drained 10 3-pointers. He scored 16 points in a 57-40 win over Mililani last Thursday and followed that up with a 24-point effort in a 74-49 win over Trinity Grammar (Sydney, Australia) the next day. Chung was one of four Buffanblu to finish in double-digit scoring against Kailua Saturday. 

"He was aggressive, he shot the ball well, as he has all season so that's nothing new, but he scored a lot and that's nice but he's definitely capable of that every game," Matsuda said. 

Matsuda recalled some of the dead-eye shooters he's coached over the years with the Buffanblu, including Nick Velasquez, JB Kam and Ryder Hsiung. 

"Ethan is up there with all these guys and with his height, it's made him tough for teams to stop. He's one of our best shooters that we've had and we've had some really good shooters," Matsuda noted. 

When Chung is dialed in from deep, the opportunities become that much more prevalent for his teammates, Matsuda said. 

"It just opens it up for everybody. If you have one guy that's going to stretch the floor like that, it's huge," he described. 

In addition to his shooting ability, Chung has added another dimension to his game in being able to attack the basket. 

"He's definitely an elite shooter but now he's added a lot to his game this year. He can post up, he can get to the basket, he can put the ball on the floor and get to the rim and I think that's a big part of his game that he's developed this year," Matsuda said. 

Chung spent six weeks over the summer with a trainer in Arizona to enhance his repertoire. 

"He worked really hard over the summer and put in a lot of work and it's paid off. He's got a better all-around game now; He's always been an elite shooter, but now he can do other things," Matsuda said. 

Chung playing sparingly as a sophomore two years ago, but made a big jump in his junior season, when he averaged 10.5 points per game and ranked third on the team in scoring behind the tandem of Zion White and Tanoa Scanlan. Chung was an All-Hawaii Honorable Mention selection. 

"Last year we had that three-headed monster in Zion, Ethan and Tanoa and they understood that if they play well together, we could be really good. Usually if you have two, three guys that are elite, it all depends how well you mesh and they meshed really well together," Matsuda described. 

Both White and Scanlan were named to the All-Hawaii First Team, however, White departed for IMG Academy in Florida since the Buffanblu won the state title in February, which left Chung and Scanlan to fill the void he left behind. 

"Tanoa and Ethan complement each other really well. Both of them can lead us in scoring — it can be one of the other — and I don't think either one feels like they have to score more than the other, it's just ‘let's do what we need to do to win.' Both of them have an inside-outside game, they can both do both, so that's important because they can both post up, they can both shoot it from outside and that gives us a good combination," Matsuda expressed. 

Chung has scored in double digits in each of Punahou's 10 games with stats reported. He is averaging 17.9 points per game in those contests and is coming off of a 23-point game in a 60-58 loss to Brentwood (Los Angeles) at the Iolani Classic Thursday afternoon. 

"He's having a great season so far. I think all his hard work is really paying off this year and that's what you like to see in someone's senior year, is to have that crowning year and I think he's doing that. Every year we see kids get better and take a jump and he took a significant jump and that's good for him," Matsuda said. 

Chung and the Buffanblu (11-4 overall, 0-1 league) return to action Friday, when they rematch Kailua at 10:30 a.m. on penultimate day of the Iolani Classic. 

BOYS BASKETBALL

Keaka Bennett, Le Jardin — Scored 26 points in a win over Saint Louis II 

Kyran Canete, Pahoa — Scored 34 points in a loss to Honokaa 

Darius Chizer, Mid-Pacific — Scored 22 points with eight rebounds in a loss to Kahuku 

Nainoa Hirasuma-Kenny, Kailua — Scored 24 points in a win over Moanalua 

Garrick Imamura, Kalani — Scored 19 points in a loss to Le Jardin 

Laakea Kamahele, Le Jardin — Scored 22 points in a win over Saint Louis II and scored 22 points in a win over Kalani 

Dylan Kuia, Baldwin — Scored 23 points in a win over Lahainaluna 

Chase LeBaron, Moanalua — Scored 23 points in a loss to Kailua 

Makoa Lindsey, Maui — Scored 19 points in a loss to Kekaulike 

Kilinahe Mata-Goldmann, Kekaulike — Scored 21 points in a win over Maui 

Manduy Pham, Kaimuki — Scored 27 points in a loss to Trinity and scored 22 points in a loss to Mililani 

Maddox Pung, Kailua — Scored 27 points in a loss to Punahou 

Shyne Salvador, Kamehameha — Scored 21 points in a win over Kaiser and scored 24 points in a win over Kalani 

Tanoa Scanlan, Punahou — Scored 20 points in a win over Mililani 

Kukia Tagabi, Honokaa — Scored 38 points in a win over Pahoa 

Liam Ticarro, Parker — Scored 22 points in a win over Christian Liberty 

Kaizen Torres-Umi Napoleon, Molokai — Scored 25 points in a win over Kulanihakoi 

Tui Tukimaka, Saint Louis — Scored 21 points in a loss to Punahou 

Mission Uperesa-Thomas, Maryknoll — Scored 18 points in a win over Iolani 

Richard Winsor, Mililani — Scored 27 points in a win over Kaimuki 

James Wong, Kohala — Scored 28 points in a win over Konawaena 

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Breyanna Alfonso, Island School — Scored 20 points in a win over Kapaa 

Naiara Bal, Maui — Scored 17 points in a win over Baldwin 

B. Barrett, Le Jardin — Scored 20 points in a win over La Pietra 

Melina Cudiamat, Sacred Hearts — Scored 15 points in a win over Hawaiian Mission 

Scarlett Dadulla, Waipahu — Scored 20 points in a loss to Pearl City 

Nihoa Dunn, Kamehameha — Scored 20 points in a loss to Saint Mary's, scored 16 points in a win over Campbell and scored 22 points in a win over Konawaena 

Alyssa Gummerus, Waimea — Scored 17 points in a win over Kauai 

Pua Herrington, Maryknoll — Scored 24 points with nine rebounds, four blocks, two steals and one assist in a win over Punahou 

Honor Kaniho, Lahainaluna — Scored 22 points in a win over Baldwin 

Justice Kekauoha, Iolani — Scored 20 points in a loss to South Medford 

Zaysah Liilii-Utu, Aiea — Scored 18 points in a loss to Waianae 

Kourtney Marcos, Mid-Pacific — Scored 15 points with 13 rebounds in a win over University Lab 

Rayne Mershon, Leilehua — Scored 15 points in a win over Roosevelt and scored 15 points in a win over Kailua 

Jade Peterson, Waianae — Scored 21 points in a win over Aiea 

Andrea Porreca, Kamehameha — Scored 16 points in a win over Konawaena 

Kailea Sakau Masulit, Island School — Scored 28 points in a win over Kapaa 

Rayah Soriano, Iolani — Scored 19 points in a loss to Carondelet

Ava Tabucbuc, Honokaa — Scored 17 points in a loss to Kamehameha-Hawaii 

Serenity Tacgere, Moanalua — Scored 20 points in a loss to Campbell 

Riya Tobosa, Pearl City — Scored 24 points in a win over Waipahu 

BOYS SOCCER

Soichi Akamata, Iolani — Scored a goal and assisted on another in a win over Mid-Pacific 

M. Chung, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Scored two goals in a win over Waiakea 

Antoine Jose De Los Reyes, Farrington — Scored four goals in a win over Waialua 

Gregory Givens, McKinley — Scored a goal and assisted on another in a win over Farrington 

Joziah Ishizaka, Mililani — Scored three goals in a win over Pearl City 

Devin Lee, Iolani — Scored a goal and assisted on another in a win over Mid-Pacific 

Hunter Kerry, Kapaa — Scored two goals in a win over Island School and scored two goals in a win over Kauai 

Makakoa Leapaga, Waianae — Scored two goals in a win over Kaimuki 

Davian-Fox McElfresh, Kalani — Scored three goals in a win over Kailua 

Kitsakorn Saengkaewsuk, Kalani — Scored a goal and assisted on another in a win over Kailua 

Mikah Sampaga, Mililani — Scored two goals in a win over Aiea 

Aito Sameshima, Kalani — Scored three goals in a win over Kailua 

Nash Schaefer, Waimea — Scored two goals in a win over Kauai 

Tyler Welsch, Campbell — Scored three goals in a win over Aiea 

GIRLS SOCCER

Maya Brown, Waialua — Scored three goals in a win over McKinley 

Jaslene Cayetano, Mililani — Scored two goals in a win over Kapolei 

Kaitlyn Ferreira, Moanalua — Scored two goals in a win over Kalaheo 

Makayla Gaston, Waianae — Scored two goals in a win over McKinley 

Kirra Gutierrez, Keaau — Scored five goals in a win over Keaau 

Maikaela Hargis, Baldwin — Scored three goals in a win over Lahainaluna 

Lea Kanekoa, Kaiser — Scored the lone goal in a win over Kalani 

Aaliyah-Madison Mahiai, Nanakuli — Scored the lone goal in a win over Farrington 

Jaeana Monalim, Campbell — Scored two goals in a win over Waipahu 

Kaahupahau Montgomery, Kamehameha — Scored the lone goal in a win over PAC-5

Melanie Navarro, Campbell — Scored two goals in a win over Kapolei 

Quinn Quinabo, Seabury Hall — Scored three goals in a win over Kulanihakoi

Navaeh Ranis, Baldwin — Scored three goals in a win over Lahainaluna 

Zoey Ross, Waianae — Scored two goals in a win over McKinley 

Sienna Sasaki, Castle — Scored the lone goal in a win over Kahuku 

Kana Smith, PAC-5 — Scored two goals in a win over Mid-Pacific 

Sabre Telles-Kuwahara, Radford — Scored five goals in a win over Waialua