Alexis Pana doesn’t speak any Romanian other than the common courtesy phrases such as “Please, thank you, excuse me, and you’re welcome,” but her game translates on the basketball court.
The 2016 Hilo High and 2020 Central Washington University graduate is playing pro ball in Romania for CSM Alexandria, where the 5-foot-9 Pana is averaging 16 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists per game.
Alexandria (8-3) is fourth in the standings and behind Arad (11-1), Satu Mare (9-1), and Sf. Gheorghe (9-1) in the 13-team league, where the season runs from October 2021 through March. Last season, Alexandria was 4-27.
After she graduated with a graphic design degree, Pana took a year off, when the pandemic was in full bloom, and worked an office job in Ellensburg, Wash.
She had a virtual tryout with the Eurobasket Summer League in May in Las Vegas. Her agent landed her two options: Germany or Romania.
Pana is one of two Americans on the team. The other is 5-7 guard Analyss Bennally, who played at San Jose State.
Alexandria is the capital city of Romania and near the Bulgarian border. The city has a population of more than 45,000.
Google Alexandria, Romania, and the city looks like the setting for a James Bond movie set in the 1940s.
But Pana noted that there are 700 to 1,000 fans at Alexandria’s gym, and the team boasts a lot of sponsors. Games are streamed on frbtv on YouTube.
Because of Pana’s steady play, she already has a contract for next season, which includes free housing and food.
“My teammates understand English but don’t speak it,” Pana said. “It took a little bit of time to get along language-wise. After a while, I get along with them very well.
“There’s another girl, who’s from New Mexico and played at San Jose State. We live together with a Bulgarian girl. She played in Italy for a while.”
Pana has already learned that there are two things far different in Romania from the Big Island: beaches and food.
“I don’t have much free time. On Christmas break, I had five days off. I’ve been to the city and to the mountains,” she said. “I went to the Black Sea when we played Constanta (58-52 road win Dec. 18). It was really cold and windy. Apparently there are no sharks. It’s very different from Hawaii.
“I eat a lot of Romanian food. I don’t know the name of it. We’ll eat meat wrapped in lettuce. I’m less picky. If you don’t eat, you have to cook your own food. My teammates were laughing at me because I was eating plain rice. But it was really good.”
There are no high school sports in Romania so girls as young as 16 can play pro ball.
“We have 13 girls. Six are over 20 years old. Everyone else is under 20,” Pana said. “We’re very young. On top of our regular league, the younger ones have their own league and play double the games we play.
“We’re Division I in our division. We have one who plays on a national team. The team is very picky on the foreign players. You have to be really good in our league.”
Her dad, Ben Pana, has been a constant force in her life, coaching Alexis and her siblings.
“Our family is proud of Lexie’s accomplishments. To see her play at that level is a good feeling,” said Pana, who has so far only watched games on YouTube. “What I want is for her to come home and run a camp and get younger kids motivated to have them push their own dreams, be what you want to be. There are not much scouts or colleges that come down here for wahine basketball. During spring break, we plan on going up to watch her.”
The Alexandria point guard pointed out that most of the foreign players are from Division I colleges, so Pana wrestled whether to stick it out at Division II Central Washington or transfer.
“My agent said I’m lucky I made it here,” she said. “I went back and forth whether I should go D-I or stay at D-II.”
Pana and Chanelle Molina, a 2016 Konawaena graduate, who’s playing pro ball in Sweden, are the only BIIF players in pro ball. They’re an exclusive club of two.
“Our class of 2016 is killing it,” Pana said. “Hawaii people are very underrated. There’s a lot of talent. It was nice that Chanelle and I played against each other growing up.
“If you work on yourself and focus what you’re good at, you can make a name for yourself.”
