2017 January Eagle Eye Homecoming Edition

V O L U M E 3 1 , N U M B E R 3

2017

eos at nd vid a s e r .CO M pic tu

HOME M ore

HAWAII BAPTIST ACADEMY

AG H BAE

LE E YE

COMING

HOMECOMING 2017

California Hoops → By Kellen Takatsuka (‘17)

EAGLE EYE Hawaii Baptist Academy 2429 Pali Highway Honolulu, Hawaii 96817 Hawaii Baptist Academy’s Eagle Eye is a student-run and studentcentered publication.

SPIRIT WEEK TEAM CO-EDITORS Kayci Kumashiro (‘17) Joel Lau (‘18) PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEO STAFF Jarin Ashimine (‘20) Kristin Moniz (‘18) Kaycee Nakashima (‘20) Paige Oshro (‘17) Ryan Su (‘17) Karly Tom (‘17) Brant Yamamoto (‘18) SPORTS WRITER Kellen Takatsuka (‘17)

2

ADVISER Eunice Sim

DISTRIBUTION The Eagle Eye is distributed at no charge to the Hawaii Baptist Academy middle and high school students, faculty, and staff. Mail subscriptions are available for a fee.

VISIT HBAEAGLEEYE.COM

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF DEREN OSHIRO

The girls and boys varsity basketball teams received a special Christmas present this December: an opportunity to travel to California for winter basketball tournaments.

Both teams left the afternoon of Christmas Day and returned in time for the new year to begin. As they headed east, players had more than just basketball games in mind. Junior guard Micah Mitchell said, “I was looking forward to getting closer to my teammates as well as the coaches, and a fun and memorable experience that I can look back on in the future.” Along with being able to bond and build chemistry on the trip with her teammates, junior guard Ally Wada, who was named the 2016 ILH DIvision II Player of the Year last season, said, “I was looking forward to the many boba places in California.”

The boys team participated for the first time in the Leon Davis Classic tournament hosted by Whittier Christian High Continued on Page 6 school, playing Whittier, Norwalk, Ontario, and Manual Arts high schools. They finished fourth out of eight teams,

Our full Spirit Week coverage can be found at our website, featuring photo galleries, videos and score breakdowns.

FOLLOW US! @hbaeagleeye at Instragram

MAHALO to HBA’s Athletic Booster Club for hosting and providing tonight’s food and drinks!

Spirit Week 2017

(Clockwise from top right) Cade Weaver (in black) battles Luke Skywalker in the eighth grade Pepper Squad; the eighth grade class performs their class cheer; freshman Vincent Ogasawara succeeds in knocking down a stack of cans in the first of five “Minute to Win It” challenges; the sophomore class cheer with ti leaves, upping the ante in the visuals; juniors Ally Wada (left) and Lynn Ono (right) make a concerted pull in their tug of war battle against the senior girls; junior mathematicians calculate how to make a winning basketball shot in their grade’s “Space Jam” Pepper Squad. PHOTOGRAPHS BY RYAN SU (‘17), PAIGE OSHIRO (‘17), KRISTIN MONIZ (‘18), KAYCEE NAKASHIMA (‘20)

The boys team finished fourth in the Leon Davis Classic hosted by Whittier Christian High School, and the girls finished second in the Garden Grove Classic.

4

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF DEREN OSHIRO

logging the first win for HBA on the mainland since 1995 (a 48-33 victory over Norwalk).

The girls team participated in the Garden Grove Classic tournament, facing Bellflower, Torrance, Canyon, and Kennedy high schools, making it all the way to the championship round. They finished second after a tough battle against Kennedy, with the final score of 47-44.

Both tournaments served to prepare the teams for their regular season games back on the islands. Sophomore Adam Kikuta said, “The teams in California are a lot bigger than the teams here, so we’re used to playing against bigger and better competition now.” On the girls team, senior Kiara Chun said, “The trip definitely helped us learn to be more efficient with our offense since we had a shot clock. We couldn’t just take unopen shots or dribble in place for no reason.”

Shot clocks are not used in the ILH. Although the trip was basketball oriented, both teams were able to relax and enjoy each other off the court. The girls had the opportunity to do a little sightseeing at Newport Pier, while the boys got tickets to both a hockey game between the Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks, and a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks. Both teams spent a day at Knott’s Berry Farm CALIFORNIA HOOPS from Page 2

and also made sure to enjoy mainland food and treats not available in Hawaii.

Since returning to the islands and beginning season play, the boys team is 3-0 so far in league games, with a 11-6 overall record. The girls’ season records stands at 6-2 (14-4 overall), and they have three league games left including tonight’s game against the University Lab’s Junior Bows (6-2). Mitchell currently leads the boys team in points, averaging 17.7 points in season play, while junior guard Katelyn Nakagawa leads the girls team in both points and 3-pointers made, averaging 11.2 points through their season games with 14 three-pointers made. Tonight, after the girls games against the Junior Bows, the boys team will be playing the Damien Monarchs (2-1).

Got Spirit? → By Joel Lau (‘18) and Kayci Kumashiro (‘17)

Led by Avatar mascot Breeann Yap, the sophomore girls battle against their freshman counterparts in a tug of war.

On each day of the week, students compete to win points for their grade by dressing up for each day’s special theme and doing well in that day’s activity. This year’s overall theme is Out of This World, and classes were assigned sci-fi movies as themes for their banners, mascots and Pepper Squad performances. The final point tally will be announced at halftime during the boys homecoming game tonight, and the winning grade gets the honor of claiming the coveted Mana Cup. Monday’s costume theme was Genre Day, and in preparation, representatives of each grade randomly drew a specific literary and film genre for their grade to emulate. At the end of the day, during the special assembly, class banners and mascots were unveiled, and grades participated in the day’s designated competition: the Tug of War. On Tuesday, students dressed up as babies and toddlers. With bottles, bibs, and pacifiers galore, students reverted back to their younger years in their toddler themed clothes. To end the day, each grade competed in minute-long challenges against one another.

From catching marshmallows, shooting rubber bands at cans to unravelling streamers at top speed, this year’s challenges made the most of every second on the clock.

The third day of Spirit Week—Fashion Don’t Day—was a spectacular

show of fashion faux pas. Mismatched prints, gaudy color combinations and simply awkward accessories ruled the day as all but one class rallied to pull off a perfect score for dress-up participation. Instead of an assembly activity, grade representatives competed in a trivia competition during lunch.

For many students, the highlight of Spirit Week is Day Four: Pepper Squad Day. At HBA, Pepper Squad is a skit performed by each grade during Spirit Week meant to promote each grade’s theme as well as to boost school spirit, hence the “pepper”. This year’s performances featured Tron (seventh grade), Star Wars (eighth grade), Cowboys Vs. Aliens (freshman), Avatar (sophomore), Space Jam (junior), and Men in Black (seniors).

As the week drew to a close today, the mascots made their last pitch to the judges as they rallied their classmates in a final assembly featuring the Platform Jam. The challenge was simple­—which class can fit the most people on a platform?—but the stakes were high as classes had just one final chance to add to their score tally.

Tonight, as the game clock counts down to half-time during the boys game, the anticipation will be palpable as eyes turn towards the Mana Cup as if to say, “We ready for you.”

PHOTOGRAPHY BY RYAN SU (‘17)

3

On January 9, students of Hawaii Baptist Academy gathered together to celebrate the first day of Spirit Week, an annual tradition organized by the student council in which middle and high school grades compete together to determine which class has the most school spirit.

BOYS VAR SIT Y BACK (L TO R) MICAH MITCHELL # 20 Junior • 6’ 0” • Guard/Forward “My dad inspires me to play basketball and I dedicate this game to my mom for all that she does for me.”

BRYSON GONZALEZ # 33 Sophomore • 6’ 3” • Forward/Center “My parents and close friends inspire me to play, and I dedicate this game to Coach Bryce.”

MAXWELL WIEMKEN # 30 Sophomore • 6’ 3” • Forward/Center “I dedicate this game to ‘mah mama.’ ” CHAD ABARBANEL # 15 Junior • 6’ 2” • Center/Forward “Anyone better than I am inspires me to play. I dedicate this game to HBA.” ADAM KIKUTA # 4 Sophomore • 5’ 9” • Guard “Boston Celtics inspire me to play basketball. I dedicate this game to my dog.”

FRONT (L TO R) PAYTON LEE # 2 Sophomore • 5’ 7” • Guard “I’m inspired by my family to play. I dedicate this game to the ‘boiz.’ ” KELLEN TAKATSUKA # 22 Senior • 5’ 9” • Guard/Forward “New shoes inspire me to play basketball. I would like to dedicate this game to God, my family, and everyone here tonight.”

TY MINATOYA # 24 Senior • 5’ 9” • Point Guard “Coach Bryce, Dana Sato, and Kyley inspire me to play basketball. I dedicate this game to my mom, dad, and sister because they’ve always supported and motivated me throughout my career” COLE GALICINAO # 3 Junior • 5’ 9” • Shooting Guard “My family inspires me to play basketball. I dedicate this game to the fam.”

NOT PICTURED BRANDON OKAZAKI # 1 Sophomore • 5’ 4” • Guard PEYTON OSHIRO # 5 Sophomore • 5’ 5” • Guard RIDGE WADA # 10 Freshman • 5’ 6” • Guard JUSTIN ISHIDA # 12 Freshman • 5’ 9” • Guard TREVOR TOKAIRIN # 45 Freshman • 6’ 2” • Center/Forward TONY LUCUAB # 50 Sophomore • 5’ 8” • Guard/Forward

GIRL S VARSIT Y BACK (L TO R) ALEXIS DANG # 5 Freshman • 5’ 4” • Point Guard “My brother inspires me to play basketball because I’ve always wanted to play like him, even when I was younger. #WEDONTSTOP #YEET I dedicate this game to my dead fish, Junior.”

CAITLYN CHING # 12 Sophomore • 5’ 3” • Guard “My mom and dad both inspire me to play basketball. #WEDONTSTOP I dedicate this game to my friends and family.”

SASHA PHILLIP # 50 Freshman • 5’ 7” • Forward “My brother Ikaika inspired me to become a basketball player because when I was younger, I always looked up to him and I wanted to be just like him. Even now I feel the same. I dedicate this game to my family because they would always push me to be a better player. I love you guys.”

KYLEY NAKAGAWA # 23 Sophomore • 5’ 6” • Guard “My inspiration is Ally Wada because she doesn’t miss and doesn’t make mistakes #WEDONTSTOP #YEET I dedicate this game my family, Coach Agena, and Ty Minatoya.”

KA‘IMI DUNCKLEE # 44 Freshman • 5’ 9” • Forward “My family and teammates inspire me to keep playing this sport. I dedicate the game to my parents.”

KALENA MONTGOMERY # 33 Sophomore • 5’ 4” • Guard “My parents and KEITH inspire me to play! I dedicate this game to to family and MARLEY!” NICOLE ARAKAKI # 32 Sophomore • 5’ 4” • Guard “Ally Wada inspires me to play basketball because she doesn’t miss and doesn’t make mistakes. #AAAHHHHH #WEDONTSTOP I dedicate this game to Katie Nakagawa because she inspires me to keep shooting the ball.”

KATELYN NAKAGAWA # 25 Junior • 5’ 2” • Guard “Ally Wada inspires me to play basketball because she doesn’t miss and doesn’t make mistakes. #AAAHHHHH #WEDONTSTOP I dedicate this game to my father, Gary. Thanks for all you do for me, Love you.”

FRONT (L TO R) CJ RAMOS # 45 Senior • 5’ 7” • Forward “My mom inspires me to play basketball. I dedicate this game to my mom and dad for their love and support throughout all the years I’ve played basketball and for always driving me to my games and practices.”

ALLY WADA # 22 Junior • 5’ 7” • Guard “Boba is my inspiration. #WEDONTSTOP I dedicate this game to my little sister, Emi. Thanks for always coming and supporting me at all of my games even though you’re forced to. Love you lots!”

KIARA CHUN # 20 Senior • 5’ 4” • Guard/Forward “My father inspires me to do my best at no matter what I do. I dedicate this game to my family, Jared, the cool kid table, and the rest of the Class of 2017.”

MORGAN LORENZO # 11 Junior • 5’ 4” • Point Guard “Ally Wada is my inspiration. #WEDONTSTOP I dedicate this game to Coach Agena and all my family and friends who came out to support me tonight, especially my dad. Love you guys! ” MIKAYLA CHUN # 15 Sophomore • 5’ 7” • Post/Forward “My family and friends inspire me to play basketball. #KNY I dedicate this game to everyone who supports me, especially my family and friends.”

HALEY BENN # 30 Sophomore • 5’ 7” • Post/Forward “My sister Ashley is my inspiration; she’s the reason I started playing basketball and she constantly motivates me to try harder. I dedicate this game to my family, my team who always have my back, and Naiya, Anna, Jazzy, CC, Julia, Bree, and Shawn.”

ALEXYS ADRIANCE # 35 Senior • 5’ 5” • Forward “My family inspires me to play basketball. I dedicate this game to my parents for always pushing me to do my best and supporting me through everything.”

EIGHTH GRADE Cade Kilbey & Julia Matsuzaki (Not pictured)

JUNIOR Anika Keuning & Josh Fujita

HOMECOMING COURT 2017

KING & QUEEN Samantha Nucum & Patrick DellDonne

FRESHMAN Kacie Kwan & Davin Nikaido

SOPHOMORE

Kristin Lau & Mason Nakamura

SEVENTH GRADE

Krysti Williams & Justin Mayeshiro