The road to the Cobras’ first Far East Division II championship in 27 years wasn’t easy, but close games prepared King’s Maliwan Schinker and her teammates for the toughest test of all. (Jonessa Jones/Special to Stripes)
SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan – Only one thing could have made things better for Maliwan Schinker and E.J. King’s girls basketball team last season.
Despite a 26-3 record, the Cobras came up just short in their bid to end a 26-year Far East Division II Tournament title drought, losing 53-43 to Christian Academy Japan.
“We knew CAJ was a strong team (and) we didn’t have our best game,” Schinker said. “It was disappointing to lose.”
So Schinker and her returning teammates, including junior twin guards Moa and Miu Best, did their best to redeem themselves – and came away with as good as season as they could have ever asked for.
King went 23-0 and won its first Far East D-II title since 1997, edging Zama 29-28 in the championship on Jan. 31 at Yokota.
But along the way to that unbeaten season and that title, the Cobras got the fire-testing and experience that Schinker said the team had lacked in 2022-23.
“Last season, we didn’t have close games,” Schinker said. “This year, we had three games that we won by one point. We had some close games and they prepared us. We knew how to handle ourselves.”
In the end, Schinker also earned D-II tournament Most Valuable Player honors and has been named Stars and Stripes Pacific high school girls basketball Athlete of the Year.
It was also sweet redemption for one of Schinker’s other teams, girls volleyball, which finished second in the Far East D-II tournament in October, also at Yokota.
King’s girls soccer team won the D-II title last April at Misawa Air Base, but no Cobras were selected for any of the tournament’s four special awards, MVP, Golden Boot, Best Keeper or Best Defender.
The game that Schinker said pronounced the Cobras ready to compete for the D-II title was the first-round playoff game against CAJ on Jan. 29. King won 47-46, on two foul shots by Miu Best in the waning seconds.
“We needed that game with CAJ,” she said. “It was redemption for us.”
In the final a day later, Schinker stole the ball in the closing seconds, a play which led to the game-clinching foul shot by Moa Best with 10 seconds remaining.
“As the team’s captain, she was rock solid,” said the Best twins’ father and Cobras coach McKinzy Best. “She was a leader amongst her peers, with tenacity and will to win. She led that team. Mali had the tools and she knew how to use them.”
The Schinker file
Maliwan Schinker
Age — 18.
Place of birth — Elizabethtown, Ky.
Other sports besides basketball — Volleyball, soccer.
Favorite school subject — History.
Least favorite school subject — Calculus.
Favorite athlete — Caitlin Clark.
Favorite entertainer — SZA.
Favorite TV series — All-American.
Favorite movie — Anything featuring Adam Sandler.
