By Wes Nakama
For the first time in its rich 40-year history, the ‘Iolani Classic championship game will have a strong “local” flavor to it.
A capacity crowd of about 1,050 watched former ‘Iolani standout JJ Mandaquit score seven points in his former home gym and help Utah Prep (Hurricane, UT) deny perennial national powerhouse Oak Hill (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), 63-52, Friday night to reach Saturday’s 8 p.m. title game against Brewster (Wolfeboro, N.H.).
Utah Prep (12-4) is ranked No. 4 in the nation by ESPN, while Brewster (12-1) is at No. 15.
“I came here to ‘Iolani in sixth grade, I was one of the many kids out there asking for pictures and autographs, so now for me to be in this position … it’s cool, it doesn’t even feel real,” said Mandaquit, a 6-foot-2 senior point guard who played his freshman season with the Raiders. “(But) I came here (to Utah Prep) to win games, and it doesn’t surprise me. It was a great team win tonight, but the job’s not finished yet — we have one more game to win.”
With Mandaquit running the offense with nifty ball-handling and zipping crisp chest passes, and also scoring baskets on a fast-break layup and floater in the lane, Utah Prep jumped out to a surprising 12-2 lead in the first six minutes. Oak Hill answered with an 11-4 run to close it to 16-13 on Howard Williams’ floater with 5:32 remaining in the third period, but Utah Prep strung together a 12-0 surge to extend the lead to 28-13 on Anthony Felesi’s free throws to push the lead to 28-13 with 1:07 remaining.
The teams then traded 3-pointers to make it 31-16 at halftime.
The Warriors opened the third period with a 14-5 run to cut it to 36-30, but Utah Prep responded with a 9-4 surge to push the lead to 45-34 on AJ Dybantsa’s free throws a half-minute into the fourth. Oak Hill could not get closer than eight points the rest of the way.
Mandaquit swished two free throws with 30 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
“I’ve had the opportunity to coach him for three years, and I’ve been able to see his growth,” said Utah Prep coach LJ Yamzon, a former point guard for Brigham Young-Hawai’i. “His decision-making, his reads, and his ability to get others involved and then score when he needs to has grown so much. In his time with us, we’ve seen him just take it upon himself with his work ethic and his commitment to his own success, and the team’s success, and he’s really fed off of that.
“It wasn’t an easy process — everybody sees him come back here as a finished product, but he went through some hard times and some growing pains, but I think it made him better in the long run. I’ve just been super fortunate to be able to coach a player like that.”
The result has been not only a starting role on the nation’s No. 4-ranked team, but also a spot on two USA Junior National teams that won gold medals in international competition. Dybantsa, Mandaquit’s Utah Prep and USA teammate, is regarded as the nation’s top college recruit. And, just last month, Mandaquit signed a letter of intent to accept a full basketball scholarship at the University of Washington.
Mandaquit’s decision and sacrifice to leave ‘Iolani and Hawai’i for Utah was not just his own. His parents and siblings also made the move, and father Jason Mandaquit joined Yamzon’s staff as an assistant coach.
“For our family, as a whole, that was definitely the toughest decision we had to make,” said Jason Mandaquit, who helped lead Hilo High to a state championship in 2000. “But looking back at it now, I’m really glad we made that decision, it’s worked out better than I even imagined it would. The fact that we got to come back home in (JJ’s) senior year and play in what is the best basketball tournament there is … Not just the basketball itself, but the atmosphere, the way they host you and take care of you here … you really feel the love and aloha spirit.”
Besides the Mandaquits, Utah Prep has other Hawai’i connections: junior point guard Layden Kauka helped lead Kohala to Division II state championships the past two seasons, and junior guard Felise’s uncle, Junior Ale, was an All-State guard who led Kahuku to a state runner-up finish in 2006. The coaching staff this week included former Hilo High/UH Hilo standout Aukai Wong and former ‘Iolani/Kalaheo/UH Hilo forward Kupa’a Harrison.
JJ Mandaquit, who was born and raised in Hilo, will get to return that love and aloha spirit during a trip home to the Big Island next week when Utah Prep hosts a keiki camp at historic Panaewa Gym.
“I grew up in that gym, that’s where I spent a lot of hours, lots of memories,” JJ Mandaquit said. “(In) everything that I do, I try to represent Hawai’i the best I can. Obviously we play for Utah Prep, but it’s good to rep both (Utah and Hawai’i).”