HONOLULU — It was something worth fighting for.
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’s basketball holiday schedule.
A closely associated event, UH’s 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 — money for the American Cancer Society’s Clarence T.C. Ching Hope Lodge in Honolulu.
“Without knowing how, we’re not going away,” Ganot recalled he resolved soon after the announcement of the DHC’s indefinite hiatus.
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 are $250.
“We’ve 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’s one of the best events in the country,” Ganot said. “We just have to pivot. We’ll work on what happens in the future, but our sponsors have stood up.”
He thanked Jeff Wagoner and Sean Dee, the respective CEO and chief commercial officer of Outrigger Hospitality Group, and the ACS.
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.
The first fundraiser was held at Murphy’s Bar & Grill in November 2016, with legendary North Carolina coach Roy Williams — a fixture in Coaches vs. Cancer national discourse — the featured guest the day before the Rainbow Warriors and No. 5 Tar Heels played at the Stan Sheriff Center.
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.
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.
He has donated to Ganot’s fundraiser annually in the years since. Close to 75 people would usually attend, he said.
This year’s 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.
“I’m glad it survived,” Portnoy said. “I think losing the Diamond Head was not only a big problem for basketball, but a potential big problem for this event. It’s certainly going to be different; it’s been held at hotels, it’s been held with all these other coaches. It’s been held on a non-basketball night. There’s usually a silent auction. And now it’s going to be held at the arena on a night that the university’s playing, so that’s going to be a new thing.”
Portnoy’s 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.
Ganot said he will take this year’s Rainbow Warriors to the Hope Lodge to present the fundraiser proceeds, as he has done in the past.
“I think it’s very special,” senior forward Harry Rouhliadeff said after Wednesday’s 88-56 win over Mississippi Valley State on the opening night of the tournament. “Me personally, I’ve had some friends and family go through sickness, and it’s something I definitely want to enforce and push forward. I love that Coach really emphasizes the Coaches vs. Cancer event, and it’s something that I really want to emphasize as well.”
Point guard Aaron Hunkin-Claytor, a Wahiawa native, echoed the sentiment as he sat next to the team captain.
“All of us … one way or another, we’ve all been directly or indirectly impacted by this dreadful disease,” Ganot said. “There have been a lot of inroads made. We’ve got to keep going until we crush cancer.”
UH (2-1) takes on Manhattan (2-1) at 7 p.m. on Day 2 of the tournament Friday.
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.
