Cole deSilva was smart enough to figure out that he didn’t need to be a volume shooter for St. Joseph to produce one of the most magical seasons in school or league history.
In fact, one of the strengths of the 6-foot senior was his basketball IQ. That’s a natural fit because deSilva carries a 4.4 grade-point average and will be the school’s valedictorian.
But it was his valuable shotgun-seat scoring and, more importantly, his increased role as a rebounder that made deSilva such an indispensable Cardinal and the BIIF Division II Player of the Year.
Joining him on the first team are teammate Manato Fukuda, Honokaa’s Jonathan Charbonneau, Hawaii Prep’s Jonas Skupeika, and Pahoa’s Keinan Agonias. All are seniors, except for Fukuda, a junior.
“I’m pretty surprised. I thought Manato would get it for sure,” said deSilva, also a deft passer of both basketballs and recognition. “This year, I realized we had so many others who could score, Manato and Ruka Suda, and Jakob Au was shooting really well.
“I could use my jumping ability to get rebounds, suck in the defense, and get open shots for them. The season went really, really well. We certainly surpassed everyone’s expectations. We finally beat Honokaa after losing to them for so many years. It was a fun season.”
Of course, St. Joseph’s greatest season was in 1958 when Walter Victor coached the Cardinals to the HHSAA state championship with a 53-51 overtime win over Saint Louis.
That was a triumphant moment for the BIIF because a year earlier Saint Louis defeated Hilo 65-55 for the inaugural state title.
However, the 2016 Cardinals stand alone in school and league history with back-to-back unbelievable one-point victories in the BIIF postseason — one night a buzzer-beater, the next a gigantic comeback.
In the BIIF semifinals, St. Joseph stunned Hawaii Prep 42-41 when Fukuda dribbled through traffic, soared as high as his 5-6 frame allowed, and dropped in a layup at the buzzer.
A night later, deSilva scored a game-high 16 points as the Miracle Cardinals rallied from an 18-point deficit and shocked the Dragons 51-50 for their first BIIF title since 2010.
“That 18-point comeback was about mental toughness,” deSilva said. “We were really ready to face anything, and we did it. It was strength of character and mental toughness.”
The character part is a life lesson from his parents, Dr. Alan deSilva and Christine Makaweo, a realtor for Clark Realty.
“They’ve always told me to take pride in my work. That’s the main thing and have manners, be a good sport and all that kind of stuff,” deSilva said. “Besides stressing to play hard, they wanted me to be the best kind of person I can be.”
The deSilva family joke is that everyone spells the last name wrong, even Google. At least, his last name is easy to pronounce.
“Off the court, he’s really quiet until this year,” said St. Joe coach Mike Scanlan, the BIIF Coach of the Year. “One thing I’m really proud of is he came out of his shell. He led the team in joking around.
“For us, the biggest thing he did was rebounding. That’s always been an Achilles’ heel at St. Joe. He really picked it up and sacrificed a lot of his scoring load to put more effort into rebounding. He probably averaged double-digit rebounds in every game.”
Dad had game
For the Hilo Viking hoop diehards, they all know that Doc deSilva was a member of the 1964 Hilo state championship team, which toppled Punahou 63-55.
What most people probably don’t know is that Doc deSilva’s son didn’t grow up as a hoopster. He was a tennis player as a youngster and is on St. Joseph’s tennis team.
His favorite tennis player is Rafael Nadal, winner of 14 Grand Slam titles, including nine French Opens, earning his distinction as the King of Clay.
Of course, deSilva’s favorite basketball player is some guy who can shoot with his eyes closed and make every miracle shot by the name of Steph Curry.
“I wasn’t really serious about playing basketball until my freshman season,” deSilva said. “Before I was going to be on the varsity, I asked my dad to train me. He basically taught me how to shoot.”
The St. Joe sharp-shooter is also the school’s student council secretary and volunteers time for the middle school basketball program.
Lifetime Cardinal
There were some lean years during deSilva’s time as a life-long Cardinal. In 2013 and ’14, St. Joe went winless in the BIIF and last season finished 4-7 and lost to Honokaa in a play-in game for the four-team league tourney.
He’s been a Cardinal since he was in preschool, and deSilva never thought of transferring to find greener basketball grass at another school.
“I’ve enjoyed the small school environment,” deSilva said. “Everyone is really nice, and there’s one on one with the teachers. The whole school is really nice. Everybody is nice to each other, and it’s a fun environment.”
It isn’t easy carrying a 4.4 GPA with advanced placement classes in calculus, physics and literature.
There’s a lot of hard studying involved for deSilva, who still hasn’t figured out where he’ll go to college or what he’ll major in.
But Scanlan, his St. Joseph coach and philosopher, knows that deSilva is smart enough to figure everything out.
“He’s really smart,” Scanlan said. “Whatever he wants to be, he can be if he believes in himself like he did in basketball.”
All-BIIF Division II
Player of Year: Cole deSilva, St. Joseph
Coach of Year: Mike Scanlan, St. Joseph
First team
Player
Cole deSilva, St. Joseph
Jonathan Charbonneau, Honokaa
Jonas Skupeika, Hawaii Prep
Keinan Agonias, Pahoa
Manato Fukuda, St. Joseph
Second team
Player
Kili Oliveira, Pahoa
Chance Pang, Kohala
Koa Callihan, Honokaa
Jonah Hurney, Hawaii Prep
Kaena Naho‘opi‘i, St. Joseph
Honorable mention
HPA: Dylan Ngango Dikobo, Matija Vitorovic, Michael Hanano
Honokaa: Kysen Datuin, Kamuela Spencer-Herring, Kelvin Falk
Ka‘u: Evan Manoha, Janslae Badua, Pete Dacalio
Kohala: Isaiah Salvador, Maui Hook
Laupahoehoe: Aasyn Datuin, Kadan Stamm
Pahoa: Joel Rosario Jr.
