Maryknoll boys basketball coach Byron Mello resigned after the season and the school will begin interviewing candidates today.

Among the interviewees will be former Spartans player Kelly Grant, who is now a teacher at the school. He confirmed on Sunday that he is one of the prospects interviewing for the position.

Grant is the boys basketball coach at Kaimuki, where he led the Bulldogs to a state championship in 2007. He played under Tony Sellitto, who guided the Spartans to a state title in 1984, Grant’s senior year — long before there was a gym on campus. The Spartans reached the final twice more after that, but lost in ’86 and ’88.

Sellitto, now retired, helps with the intermediate program.

Big week for Marciel ohana

While coach Walter Marciel guided Academy of the Pacific to historic Division I wins over Roosevelt and Moanalua in the Hawaiian Airlines/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Boys Basketball State Championships, there was another Marciel making waves in the heartland.

Wally Marciel Jr. started and was the winning pitcher in Kansas baseball’s 7-1 upset of No. 1 TCU on Saturday.

Pahoa clearly on the map

The Pahoa Daggers surprised the field last year en route to a Division II state championship.

This season, seeded third, they reached the final again. Only Farrington, ranked No. 4 in the state, could stop the small school from the Big Island.

"Credit Farrington. They’re a good team," second-year coach Eric Yoshimura said. "We could’ve used some additional height, crashing the boards more. Defensive help was there at times. We had three, maybe four charging calls. That was nice to see. Our outside shot wasn’t falling. We missed a lot of open shots.

"This team has a lot of heart. They work hard, they don’t give up. It’s a great bunch."