Right about now is when BIIF basketball fans start to go through a major case of withdrawal.
The season ended more than four months ago, and it’ll be another five-plus before the preseason rolls around.
But for some players the season never ends, or that’s the idea, at least, behind the Hoop Life High School Summer League, which wrapped up its three-month season last week.
“I think the biggest thing is everybody continues to improve and grow,” Hoop Dreams club coach Randy Apele said. “I saw players get better and more teams participate.
“Skill development and just getting a better feel for playing the game.”
The 18-team league essentially came down to a battle of Warriors, with Waiakea edging the Keaau Chargers 53-50 in the title game at Waiakea Uka Gym behind league MVP Kiai Apele (16 points) and Jerek Prudencio (14). Kaupena Yasso (18 points) led the Chargers – think Kamehameha – and Izayah Chartrand added 17 points.
“The nicest thing is it was a very competitive season and title game,” Randy Apele said.
Kiai Apele was joined on the all-star team by Chargers Yasso and Chartrand, Howard Robert and KJ Walker from Kealakehe, Kaukahi Alameda from Hilo and Keegan Scanlan from NSPYR. Games were primarily played at Andrews Gym.
There will be another slate of games in the fall leading up to the BIIF campaign, but first the travel season beckons.
Randy Apele was on Kauai on Friday with Hoop Dreams, and like other Big Island clubs, boys and girls, they are set to head to the mainland for tournaments, specifically to Las Vegas and Anaheim, Calif., with a handful of age group teams.
Last summer, Hoop Dreams claimed a freshman/sophomore boys championship at a Las Vegas tournament with a roster that featured Apele, Chartrand, Yasso, Elijah Blankenship and Koby Tabuyo-Kahele.
The summer league also included a rising stars division (grades 8-10), which Hoops Dreams won by beating Kealakehe 63-43. Alameda (15) and Apele (14) paced the winners, and Howard Robert led all scorers with 16 for the runner-up.
“We just want to give (the kids) a chance to prepare,” Randy Apele said.
It’s a never-ending process for some, and that’s just how they like it.
