Zama’s Casey Stewart drives to the basket against Kadena’s Jayden Allen. The Panthers beat the Trojans 43-32. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
TOKYO – Kadena’s girls are hoping the third time is the charm.
After finishing second in the last two American School In Japan Kanto Classic basketball tournaments, the Panthers began their bid Thursday to shrug off those runner-up finishes – and a slow start to this season – in the sixth iteration of the tournament.
Senior Marina Sawyer scored a combined 25 points as the Panthers rallied from an 8-2 first-quarter deficit to beat host ASIJ 30-24 before downing International School Bangkok 32-7. Kadena won Pool A in the group stage and earned a top seed entering Friday’s knockout round.
This is a Panthers team much different from the last couple of years. The two Thursday victories come after a 1-7 start. Gone are the team’s two key cogs, NyKale Penn and Destiny Richardson, who transferred after last season.
New coach Alisa Settles has emphasized not to focus on who the Panthers lost, but who they have remaining and to understand a basketball team doesn’t hang its hat on one or two stars.
“They’ve adjusted,” Settles said. “They’ve come to realize it’s not just two players, but it takes five to win. They’re starting to mesh as a unit and this is an awesome time to do it.”
Nile C. Kinnick's Kotone Turner shoots between Academy of Our Lady of Guam's Torie Rapadas and Maddy Ada. The Red Devils won 41-28 to stay unbeaten at 15-0. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Nile C. Kinnick's Kotone Turner drives against Academy of Our Lady of Guam's Pia Hart. The Red Devils won 41-28 to stay unbeaten at 15-0. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
American School In Japan's Shou Murakami-Moses defends against Yokota's Jai Bailey. The Mustangs won 51-32. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
American School In Japan's Ayden Carreon skies for a rebound against Yokota. The Mustangs won 51-32. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kadena’s Angel Torrado snags a rebound in front of Zama’s Derek Smith. The Panthers beat the Trojans 43-32. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
While the girls are shaking off a tough start, Kadena’s boys broke out of the gate handsomely. They won their first 12 games, most by comfortable margins, and captured the Okinawa-American Friendship Tournament title last month for the sixth time.
But on Jan. 6, along came the Ryukyu Golden Kings’ 18-U. The Panthers fell behind 21-8 in the first quarter and could never hit their stride en route to their first loss of the season.
“Complacency kills,” Panthers coach Antiwon Tucker said of the big takeaway from that game. “You cannot afford to be complacent.”
Kadena began its bid for the boys title by topping Zama 43-32. It’s a Panthers team featuring a balanced attack, good size in the middle, a solid perimeter game and an experienced lineup.
“We have the tools,” Tucker said. “We just need the Kadena Panther mindset. Simple basketball wins simple basketball games.”
The tournament’s group stage continues through Friday morning. The top two teams in each group qualify for the knockout round, which begins Friday afternoon and continues into Saturday evening. The last-place group finishers play in the consolation round Saturday.
Elsewhere in the final regular-season weekend of the winter sports season for most athletes, E.J. King and Matthew C. Perry’s boys and girls teams play in this weekend’s Western Japan Athletic Association tournaments in Osaka and Kobe.
In Korea, Osan’s boys and girls entertain Dwight School of Seoul on Friday. Humphreys’ boys and girls host Yongsan International, while Taejon Christian travels to Daegu on Saturday.
On the mats, DODEA-Korea holds its penultimate regular-season meet Saturday at Osan. DODEA-Japan’s last regular-season meet is scheduled for Saturday at Robert D. Edgren.
All will serve as final preparation for the DODEA-Pacific Far East tournaments, scheduled for Jan. 29-31.
