When Hilo High girls basketball gained a new No. 1 fan last spring, the boys team also got a coach.
Ben Pana still mixes it up with his players at practice — he swats at balls, fights through screens and contests jumpers as he builds up a healthy sweat Tuesday night — just not with the girls anymore.
He gave up that job after six seasons, bypassing a final chance to coach his daughter Lexi, to be, of all things, a dad.
“We’ve never had that father-daughter relationship that most people had with their kids,” he said.