Bringing Their Aye Game
Saturday, May 3, 2008

S.F. Barons and Nakatani capture NAU State Championship titles in and Aye Plus and Double Aye divisions. Gametime takes NAU State Aye Major title, while Magic Aye win Aye Minor final.

 
photos by JUN NAGATA/Rafu Shimpo
Nakatani’s Jim Kawahito drives upcourt against Brandon
Kagawa of the Sacramento Barons in the Double Aye final.

Aye Major championship game MVP Adam Blightman,
left, can’t stop the skyhook of Silent But Deadly’s
Mike Pakele, but Gametime won, 86-76.

The 2008 North-South Basketball Finals in the Nisei Athletic Union were played Sunday at Gardena High School, with teams from up north splitting this year’s titles with the squads from SoCal.

Nakatani was all business, romping their way to the Double Aye championship with an 86-56 win over the Sacramento Barons.

Jim Kawahito led all scorers with 28 points for Nakatani, adding eight rebounds and three steals. Game MVP Billy Hoffman netted 27 with four assists and eight rebounds and Shaun Shimizu grabbed 13 boards with 11 points for the winners.

Louie Kinoshita scored 14 for the Barons, who had four of their five starters in double figures.

The Aye Plus final was a true classic, with the San Francisco Associates slipping past the Lakers in a thrilling, 75-73 overtime win.

Jeremy Lee had the hot hand for sure, scoring 36 on his way to winning the MVP trophy. Lee also pulled in 10 rebounds and dished out six assists. His point total was more than double that of his closest teammate, Michi Langfeldt, who scored 14.

Stephen Wada led the Lakers with 21 points and Scott Shimizu and Alan Morris grabbed nine rebounds apiece.

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The Aye Major and Aye Minor championship games were played Sunday, during the 2008 North-South Basketball Finals at Gardena High School. This year teams from Northern and Southern California split the four NAU titles.

Gametime caught fire late and won the Aye Major title going away, 86-76, over Southern California champ Silent But Deadly.

Adam Blightman, winner of the game’s Most Valuable Player award, scored 30 points for Gametime and grabbed 11 rebounds. Guy Kitagawa netted 25 and Derek Mune scored 14 for the winners.

Silent But Deadly were led by Mark Nitake’s game-high 32, but only two other SBD players were in double figures.

In the Aye Minor state final, the Magic Ayes held off a surging San Francisco Drakes Black team and came away with a 59-44 win.

Game MVP Michael Huh tallied 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Magic, with teammates Donnie Tippi and Ryan Okamoto scoring 11 points apiece.

Jeff Uyeda was the game’s high scorer, netting 21 for the Drakes, but none of his teammates scored more than 9.