For the second year in a row, the Saint Francis boys varsity basketball team won the DII State Championship and took home the koa. They beat Roosevelt on the first day of states and Kauai on the second day. In the final, they played Damien. Surprisingly, Damien beat Kalani, the OIA DII champs, advancing to play us in the finals.
Trailing the Monarchs in the first quarter of the championship game, most of the team had a slow start. Leading scorer Kameron Ng says, “I was nervous for this game, thinking about how I would play, if we would win or not… I had many butterflies until the jump ball. Then, I was calm and felt ready to play.”
Eventually, Kameron hit, Junior Bubba Akana added 2 free throws, and Junior Titus Liu scored a 3-pointer, the Saints led by 3 points to finish off the first quarter with the score 16-13. That’s when they started to focus more and play their game.
This was the third time the boys played Damien. They defeated the Monarchs twice in their regular season. Being familiar with Damien, the boys knew what they were expected to win states from the start of our season. We put in so much work that we knew it was gonna pay off in the end, and it did. When the game ended, it was a dream come true. I couldn’t have been more proud of my teammates and coaches.” Kameron Ng explained, “Once the buzzer sounds and we all knew we were the state champs, there’s no better feeling. So many emotions went through my mind, just a moment of awe that I don’t know how to explain. All of my hard work paying off is one of the better feelings of life.” Earning what they deserved, the boys celebrated their big win after the game, showing off their Koa.
