HONOLULU \u2014 It was something worth fighting for.<\/p>\n
When ESPN Events canceled the 2025 edition of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic college basketball tournament in February, more was at stake than some nationally televised games that were a staple of the University of Hawaii men\u2019s basketball holiday schedule.<\/p>\n
A closely associated event, UH\u2019s annual Coaches vs. Cancer fundraiser, was in jeopardy. Coach Eran Ganot had tied the event to the tournament, which allowed as many as seven visiting head coaches to lend their names to what most viewed as a worthy cause \u2014 money for the American Cancer Society\u2019s Clarence T.C. Ching Hope Lodge in Honolulu.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout knowing how, we\u2019re not going away,\u201d Ganot recalled he resolved soon after the announcement of the DHC\u2019s indefinite hiatus<\/a>.<\/p>\n It took some improvising and “all hands on deck,” but Ganot and UH moved the Coaches vs. Cancer fundraiser to the Stan Sheriff Center Saturday on the final night of the Outrigger Rainbow Classic. It will be 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Ed Wong Hospitality Suite. Individual tickets<\/a> are $250.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve taken a lot of pride in making sure we do our part here in Hawaii, and from a local level, from a national level, it\u2019s one of the best events in the country,\u201d Ganot said. \u201cWe just have to pivot. We\u2019ll work on what happens in the future, but our sponsors have stood up.\u201d<\/p>\n He thanked Jeff Wagoner and Sean Dee, the respective CEO and chief commercial officer of Outrigger Hospitality Group, and the ACS.<\/p>\n Since 2017, more than $200,000 has been raised for the Hope Lodge through Ganot’s fundraisers, according to UH. The Hope Lodge provides free shelter and care for cancer patients that must come to Oahu for life-saving treatment.<\/p>\n The first fundraiser was held at Murphy\u2019s Bar & Grill in November 2016, with legendary North Carolina coach Roy Williams \u2014 a fixture in Coaches vs. Cancer national discourse \u2014 the featured guest the day before the Rainbow Warriors and No. 5 Tar Heels played at the Stan Sheriff Center.<\/p>\n In subsequent years, it shifted to Waikiki for easy access for the visiting coaches as Outrigger became a major partner and was held Dec. 21, the night before tournament competition.<\/p>\n Longtime UH basketball analyst and commentator Jeff Portnoy helped broker the initial connection between Ganot and ACS Hawaii, for which he served on its board at the time.<\/p>\n He has donated to Ganot’s fundraiser annually in the years since. Close to 75 people would usually attend, he said.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s fundraiser will be concurrent with the Manhattan and Mississippi Valley State at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, and before the 7 p.m. UH game against Utah Tech that night, adding a layer of logistical challenges. Ganot plans to mingle with guests before the UH game, and his counterparts of the other three teams in the Rainbow Classic field could appear before or after their games. UH Athletic Director Matt Elliott and UH hoops general manager Patty Mills are other possible attendees.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m glad it survived,\u201d Portnoy said. \u201cI think losing the Diamond Head was not only a big problem for basketball, but a potential big problem for this event. It\u2019s certainly going to be different; it\u2019s been held at hotels, it\u2019s been held with all these other coaches. It\u2019s been held on a non-basketball night. There\u2019s usually a silent auction. And now it\u2019s going to be held at the arena on a night that the university\u2019s playing, so that\u2019s going to be a new thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Portnoy\u2019s late wife, Sandi, succumbed to cancer not long after the initial fundraiser. The annual Coaches vs. Cancer get-together serves a pleasant memory, he said, as Sandi attended the first one.<\/p>\n Ganot said he will take this year\u2019s Rainbow Warriors to the Hope Lodge to present the fundraiser proceeds, as he has done in the past.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s very special,\u201d senior forward Harry Rouhliadeff said after Wednesday\u2019s 88-56 win over Mississippi Valley State on the opening night of the tournament. \u201cMe personally, I\u2019ve had some friends and family go through sickness, and it\u2019s something I definitely want to enforce and push forward. I love that Coach really emphasizes the Coaches vs. Cancer event, and it\u2019s something that I really want to emphasize as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Point guard Aaron Hunkin-Claytor, a Wahiawa native, echoed the sentiment as he sat next to the team captain.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of us \u2026 one way or another, we\u2019ve all been directly or indirectly impacted by this dreadful disease,\u201d Ganot said. \u201cThere have been a lot of inroads made. We\u2019ve got to keep going until we crush cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n UH (2-1) takes on Manhattan (2-1) at 7 p.m. on Day 2 of the tournament Friday.<\/p>\n Brian McInnis<\/a>\u00a0covers the state\u2019s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii.\u00a0He can be reached at\u00a0brian.mcinnis@<\/a>charter.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HONOLULU \u2014 It was something worth fighting for. 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