State Champions – Pepsi Beverages Co. (Back row, from left): Maurice “Moe” Johnson, Jason Haskell, Daniel Zane, Tyler Maldonado, Lekeli Watanabe. (Front row, from left): Gaylen Teraoka, Leo Manayan, Brad Guillermo, and Corey Shippy.
KALAHEO, Kauai—The top ranked basketball teams from each division gathered for a championship tournament on December 12, 2015. The 34th Annual State Basketball Tournament was hosted by Kauai Division and played at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center Gym.
Pepsi Beverages Company represented the island of Oahu, which produced last year’s champs, the Hawaii Longshore Division’s McCabe, Hamilton & Renny. Waikoloa Village Golf Course team “Da Crew” represented the Big Island. Maui was represented by Hawaii Commercial & Sugar’s “Cane Burners” and Kauai Coffee/ Midpac Auto Center represented Kauai.
Pepsi 87, Kauai Coffee/Midpac Auto Center 26
In the opening game, Pepsi’s Brad Guillermo was red hot sinking three 3-pointers with a game high total of 21 points. Teammates Corey Shippy and Leo Manayan helped to clinch the win over Kauai with 15 points and 13 points, respectively. Kauai’s Joel Green was the high scorer for his team with 9 points.
Da Crew 58, Cane Burners 33
In the second semi-final game, Hawaii overwhelmed Maui by 25 points for the win to earn a berth in the championship game. Da Crew’s Keone Emeliano led his team with 13 points. Teammate Reeve Cazimero contributed 11 points. Maui’s high scorers were Darius Ramos Quedding with 17 points and Jeston Visitation Tabarnilla with 9 points.
Cane Burners 59, Kauai Coffee/ Midpac Auto Center 31
The consolation game between Maui and Kauai was a one-sided blowout. Maui led 30-10 at half-time and never looked back. Maui’s Redentor Santiago turned in a sizzling performance with 20 points. Vic Mauro Santiago and Darius Ramos Quedding added 10 points each for the Cane Burners. Joel Green led Kauai with 9 points.
Pepsi 67, Da Crew 62
The championship game between Oahu and Hawaii was a thriller. In the first half, the score was never more than three points between the teams, with each team taking the lead for short periods. The first half ended with Da Crew ahead 34-31. The second half began with Hawaii racing to a 10-point lead, but Oahu rallied to tie the game at 56-all with two minutes left in the game. With less than a minute left to play, Oahu led by 2 points—61 to 59. Hawaii managed to tie the game at 61-all at the buzzer.
In the overtime period, a tired Hawaii team managed only 1 point while Oahu scored 6 points to win 67-62. Pepsi’s Brad Guillermo led all scorers with 27 points. Teammate Lekeli Watanabe contributed 13 points. Keone Emeliano led Hawaii with 26 points. Ryan Bautista added 15 points and Reeve Cazimero added 14 points for Da Crew.
The tournament and awards luncheon were organized by Kauai Division Sports Coordinator Doreen Kua and Pamela Green. Unit 3401 – Kauai Coffee Chairperson Gwendolyn Wenio assisted in the luncheon. State Sports Coordinator Brian Tanaka, Oahu Division Sports Coordinator Jose Miramontes, Maui Division Sports Coordinator Claro Romero and Hawaii Division Sports Coordinator Corinna Salmo also assisted with the tournament.
Individual Awards
• Most Valuable Player: Brad Guillermo - Pepsi
• 3-Point Shooting: Keone Emeliano - Da Crew
All-Tournament Team
• Brad Guillermo - Pepsi
• Keone Emeliano - Da Crew
• Darius Ramos Quedding - Cane Burners
• Corey Shippy - Pepsi
• Reeve Cazimero - Da Crew
• Joel Green - Kauai Coffee/Midpac Auto Center
All-Tournament Team: 3-Point Shooting Champ Keone Emeliano - Da Crew, Joel Green - Kauai Coffee/Midpac Auto Center, Reeve Cazimero - Da Crew, Brad Guillermo - Pepsi Beverages Co., and Corey Shippy - Pepsi Beverages Co. Not pictured: Darius Ramos Quedding - Cane Burners.
Runner-up Award - Da Crew.
Third Place Award - Cane Burners.
Sportsmanship Award - Kauai Coffee/Midpac Auto Center.