When the ball is in Kekaukahi Alameda’s hands, good things happen for Hilo, which can count on the sophomore point guard to make smart decisions, such as setting up teammates or taking clean shots himself.
Despite a few early struggles, the Vikings defeated plucky Parker 74-44 at the Waiakea-Keaau boys basketball tournament on Friday at the Warriors Gym, where Hilo eventually imposed its will relying on its traditional bread-and-butter ball pressure.
Alameda buried three 3-pointers and dropped in layups for 16 points and dished assists to teammates. Stenson Refit added 13 points, Liko Medeiros had 11, and Tyler Kuanoni 10 points for a balanced attack.
“Kekau got much better over the summer. He worked hard,” Hilo coach Bruce Ferreira said. “He improved his outside shot and can still attack the basket.”
Reece Herendeen scored 19 points and Conner Brown 15 points for the Bulls, who are fielding a varsity team for the first time since 2010. They came out energized and ready to play.
Here’s a prime example of Parker’s hustle: there was a wet spot on the floor, and Brown, a junior point guard, ran to the other end to grab a towel and sprinted back.
The Waimea private school grabbed an 11-10 early in the first quarter and displayed a fundamentally sound press-break, minimizing dribbling and passing to open lane runners while streaking to the basket.
Brown was instrumental in overseeing ball hawks and finding open Parker teammates. He hit a short jump shot to give the Bulls an 11-10 led in the first period before the Viks made a healthy run.
Hilo produced a 17-2 spurt bridging the first and second quarters. Alameda and JoJo Balagot swished back-to-back 3-pointers to cap the run, all created from tenacious ball pressure, which led to loads of Parker turnovers.
The Vikings only threw their customary full-court pressure a few times, which produced mixed results. However, it was their on-ball harassment that opened a floodgate of Bull giveaways and easy layups.
Alameda drained three 3-pointers in the second quarter to lift the Vikings to a 32-20 halftime lead. His long-distance shooting came in handy against Parker’s 2-3 zone, which closed off drives to the hoop.
Coming into the season, the Vikings were a short team. Now, they’re even smaller without Isaac Liu, who was a member of the football team, which won the HHSAA Division I championship. He decided not to play hoops for his senior season.
“Without Isaac, that changes the team a lot,” Hilo coach Bruce Ferreira said. “He was a pure scorer. Now, we’ve got to score by committee. Everybody has to contribute. We’ll need all 12 guys on the team to step up.
“We have to get back to our Hilo High style of play: run the court, control the tempo, knock down a 3 or take short jumpers.”
Besides Alameda, Medeiros, a senior forward, is the only other returning starter, and he’s similar to Liu, an athletic, physical presence.
Medeiros is an intense glass cleaner, especially on the offensive end. He’s the dude who’s always giving the Viks second-chance shots on his pure hustle, being that he’s not the tallest post player. He’s 5 feet 10 but plays much bigger.
“Liko is a solid, hard-nosed player,” Ferreira said. “He always plays 100 percent. He can knock down a 3 and battle with the big boys.”
In the fourth quarter, Alameda had a steal and pass that illustrated why he’s Hilo’s engine. He stole the ball, dribbled downcourt with his head up and fired a bullet pass to a wide-open Kuanoni, who buried a 3-pointer for a 54-27 lead with 7:21 left.
The Vikings have a plethora of quick guards who can apply uncomfortable ball pressure, pick someone’s pocket and score transition layups or spot up and bang a 3-ball in senior Balagot, sophomores Alameda, Refit and Guyson Ogata, and freshman Shesley Martinez.
Of course, beating a Parker team that is basically a BIIF newbie is different than playing the other league’s Division I teams: Waiakea, Konawaena, Kamehameha, Keaau, and Kealakehe.
Last season, the Vikings finished 6-6 and just a spot ahead of the last-place Waveriders, who were 5-7, and missed the four-team BIIF playoffs.
“We have to take care of the ball and play good team defense,” Ferreira said. “We’re really small, so we can’t turn over the ball and have teams slow down on us. We’ll be in trouble if that happens. We need to create the tempo. If we do that, we should be fine.”