Team Aloha and the Mufi Hannemann Basketball Jamboree throughout the years...

Team Aloha’s genesis is the Mufi Hannemann Basketball Jamboree, the post-season tournament that has featured the top female hoops stars from across the state of all ages since 1994.

The Jamboree was the brainchild of Hannemann; who solicited the support of Mike Vasconcellos, former athletic director at Chaminade University and founder of the prestigious Maui Invitational; and Jill Nunokawa, Title IX advocate at the University of Hawai‘i and a former Rainbow Wahine hoopster (the three are pictured above). At the time—remember it was nearly three decades ago—the trio believed that girls were being given short shrift in college opportunities, despite the enactment of Title IX, because the girls’ were denied the same treatment as the boys. For example, girls’ hoops was a spring sport, not a winter game like the boys’, meaning a major college scouting window was closed to the girls. The trio thought having a showcase of talent would provide an opportunity for the local girls to demonstrate their skills, in the hopes that they might someday attract greater interest from college scouts. The first Jamboree was a success and so it was scheduled as an annual post-season event, under Hannemann’s imprimatur.              

It had been Hannemann’s long-held dream to attract mainland college coaches and scouts, but the islands were seen as a distant outpost outside the realm of these recruiters; moreover, travel to a mainland showcase would be costly. In 2007, Hannemann approached then-Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association head Keith Amemiya to collaborate in co-sponsoring a trip to the mainland for a squad of all-stars.

Hannemann tapped Dana Takahara Dias, a cabinet officer in his mayoral administration, past captain of the Rainbow Wahine basketball team and former coach of the successful Moanalua High School Menehune girls team and later UH women’s basketball program head coach, to assist in assembling a team of top student-athletes to take to a mainland tournament. Other coaches have included, another former Rainbow Wahine alum Fran Villarmia - Kahawai, who won a state championship at Aiea, Mona Fa’asao copped an OIA crown at Kaimuki, Sherice Ajifu, who led MPI to a state title and assisted at University of Hawai‘i, and Rodney Cavaco, who has successfully steered girls and boys basketball and volleyball squads during his career.

The team was dubbed Team Aloha and would win the NCAA-sanctioned Nike Storm + Swish tournament held on the University of California, Santa Barbara campus in September 2007. That first team, consisting of such all-stars as Jamie Smith of ‘Iolani who played at UNLV, Shawna and Shaena Kuehu of Punahou who received scholarships to UC Berkeley and Idaho State respectively, University of Utah’s  Iwalani Rodrigues of Roosevelt, and Keisha Kanekoa of Honoka‘a, who hooped at the University of Hawai‘i,  among other standouts, went undefeated, earned the tournament title, and attracted the attention of college scouts from many Division 1 colleges.

Validating not only the caliber of local talent but the value of Team Aloha, the hoopsters have participated in 12 more mainland tournaments in Arizona and California since then. The team has won multiple division titles during this span with a winning record exceeding 80 percent. Many other Team Aloha standouts have gone on to compete at other top institutions like Washington State University, BYU, Indiana, Gonzaga, Nebraska, St Mary’s, Utah State, San Jose State, UC Irvine, and Cal State Fullerton. Two of them from Konawaena, a perennial powerhouse program, Li’a Galdeira and Chanelle Molina, after successful playing careers at Wazzu, played professionally in Europe. In Galdeira’s case she was drafted by the Washington Mystics of the WNBA.

Team Aloha head coach and founder Mufi Hannemann, said, “Our athletes have shown tremendous skill and sportsmanship. I’ve said time and time again that our girls can compete against the best in the nation, and our continued competitiveness shows the caliber of home-grown talent we have. It also bears mention that our participation in these NCAA-sanctioned mainland tournaments has led to a number of our players—who otherwise might have escaped recognition because of limited exposure at home—coming to the attention of college recruiters. That has been the case year after year and validates the purpose of this endeavor.”

Hannemann starred at ‘Iolani School and lettered at Harvard University and was the Raiders head jayvee and varsity boys hoops coach and assisted at Maryknoll School. Besides Hawaii , he has also played and coached successfully in New Zealand , American Samoa and Guam and has continued to sponsor his girls Basketball Jamboree and Team Aloha in support of Title IX and gender equity. This year’s 2022 edition of Team Aloha, Hannemann’s 14th at the helm, consists for the first time of two teams - 17 and under and 16 and under that will enter the Elite Is Earned Spring Invitational in the Bay Area. Team Aloha did not travel in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid but in the last two years it competed in this tournament in 2018 and 2019 they won their division championship.