Basketball was always Pupualii "Pupu" Sepulona's safe space.
Sepulona is a lifelong resident of Ka‘ahumanu Homes in Kalihi, where he grew up near gang activity and crime.
At nearby Kalākaua District Park, Sepulona fell in love with basketball. Countless hours were spent honing his craft as the sport kept him centered.
"There's a lot of things that go on. You can get distracted with the wrong crowd," Sepulona told Aloha State Daily. "Going to the basketball courts kept me focused. I made sure to stay out of the wrong areas and being at the wrong place at the wrong time. I just continued to keep my eyes on just getting better in basketball and whatever I did in sports. That kept me out of trouble. I'm happy I'm here. It's all God at the end of the day."
Regardless of how his senior season at Saint Louis ends, Sepulona has already established himself as one of the state's all-time great hoopsters. A four-year varsity player, Sepulona has three state championships and two Hawai‘i Gatorade Player of the Year awards.
After recently winning the ILH championship, Saint Louis is the top seed in the upcoming HHSAA Division I basketball tournament, which runs from Feb. 17-21 and concludes at the University of Hawai‘i's Stan Sheriff Center. Sepulona and the Crusaders are aiming for their fourth straight state title.
For all that Sepulona has accomplished on the hardwood, next week's string of games will be his last time playing organized basketball. Come fall, he'll enroll at the University of Utah on a football scholarship.
"It's gonna be hard for me because basketball has always been my love, has always been my passion my whole life ever since I was six years old, so not being able to play it anymore, I'm going to be heartbroken," Sepulona said. "But I know that all the years of playing basketball, transitioning to a sport like football has been easier because of basketball. The way I move, the lateral movement, speed and strength, it's all because of basketball. I'm just gonna miss the game."
At 6-foot-3, Sepulona was considered too short to continue to be a power forward at the college level. Mid-major Division I schools like Loyola Marymount floated the idea of him transitioning to shooting guard, but ultimately, Sepulona knew that in order to continue his athletic career, football was the answer.
Sepulona played football for the Saint Louis JV team as a freshman and a sophomore. He played sparingly on the varsity team as a junior. Saint Louis coaches were tantalized by his athletic ability on the basketball court, but they knew that's also where his heart truly resided at the time.
In major college basketball, 6-foot-3 with lower body strength and lateral speed may be scoffed at, but in football, that type of foundation is coveted. Colleges continued to check in on Sepulona, eager to see how his senior season would go.
As soon as his junior season of high school basketball ended, Sepulona was aware that it was time to maximize his potential in football.
"I knew I had to put in work, and I knew that I had to do something to get myself to the next level and that football was gonna be my ticket," Sepulona said. "Going into my senior season, I just was locked in and focused on football. I feel like I enjoyed the process in the game of football, and it has led me to making it to the next level."
When Saint Louis head football coach Tupu Alualu entered his first year at the helm of his alma mater, he noticed Sepulona's dedication to offseason workouts, which included "99.99%" attendance to team activities and strenuous workouts that included lifting, conditioning, Muay Thai and yoga.
Sepulona shined as a starter on the defensive line, earning consensus All-State honors. In a 17-10 state championship win over Kahuku, he was disruptive with four tackles, including two for loss.
"It didn't matter where he played, at the interior as a tackle or on the outside, he naturally had great technique, great speed, good strength. He would cause double teams," Saint Louis defensive coordinator Thom Kaumeyer said. "He has explosion, he's a good defensive lineman, and so I think he can cause a lot of problems for offenses. I think that's mainly why Utah wanted to go after him pretty hard."
One of the biggest reasons Sepulona says he chose Utah was because of the family atmosphere created by other Polynesian players and coaches in the program. By the time he signed with the Utes in December, he had over half a dozen other offers and was elevated to four-star status by 247 Sports.
With football season done and a scholarship secured, Sepulona returned to the basketball team with one last go-around playing the sport he adores. His return to the court was delayed by an MCL sprain in his left knee during the football season, but he came back in time for ILH play against Kamehameha on Jan. 4.
The Crusaders went 13-0 during the ILH season, including a 63-56 victory over Punahou in the championship game on Wednesday to secure their fourth straight league title.
Sepulona has played his senior season of basketball at his football weight of 270 pounds. He estimates that if he didn't have a football scholarship lined up, he would currently be 30 pounds lighter.
Sepulona had a quiet first half on Wednesday, sitting for the majority of the first quarter. In the second half, he began scoring at will with an array of spin moves. The lefty used his rare combination of strength and body control to contort his way to the basket, finishing with 18 points and six rebounds by ScoringLive's count.
"That's what he does, you know? I mean, he can go into it and just take over a game," mused Saint Louis head basketball coach Dan Hale. "He's just such a hard guy to guard."
In state tournaments with Saint Louis, regardless of the sport, Sepulona has been indomitable. In addition to his three state basketball titles and the one he recently won with the football team, Saint Louis won a state volleyball title in 2023 when Sepulona decided to dabble in the sport. In the HHSAA Division II championship match against University Laboratory School, he had 15 kills and nine digs.
"All I can say about Pupu is every time people bet against him as far as he can't do something, he proves them wrong," Hale said.
With a GPA of 3.59 as a sophomore and 3.87 as a junior, Sepulona is an HHSAA Hall of Honor shoo-in when the annual class of 12 gets announced in the summer. He has also volunteered at various community events in his hometown. Once he moves away, he vows to never forget where he came from, dedicating his career to his parents and his late aunt, Ella.
"I live in the projects of Kalihi. It means a lot coming from the projects, because not many kids get the opportunity from the projects to have that type of moment. I just got to cherish every moment, and where I come from is a blessing, because I didn't come from a rich area. My parents always told me the same thing: Be the best version of myself and just do my thing, not just in sports, but in the classroom and in life in general."
"We always talk about where we come from, because we are proud of where we come from to be where we are now," added Alualu, who was reared at nearby Mayor Wright Homes. "It's easy when you work with a kid that's very humble, hard working, just a natural leader."
At Utah, Sepulona is assured an immeasurable upgrade from where he currently lives. This fall, for the first time, Power Four universities such as Utah will share as much as $20.5 million in annual revenue among its student-athletes. Sepulona is already planning to send money periodically to his parents back home.
But before that, Sepulona has one week left to play the sport that started his entire athletic journey, the game that indirectly created opportunities once beyond his imagination. Saying goodbye to his home and his first love will undoubtedly be difficult for Sepulona, who as a child often had a basketball in his hands away from the court, even sleeping with a ball at times.
In college, he'll still be the kid from public housing with a ball and a dream. Just with a different ball moving forward.
"College football is gonna be a big transition for me. I'm gonna be away from my parents. I'm gonna have to be disciplined being independent," Sepulona said. "I'm just gonna continue to keep my head down, stay focused, keep God first in everything that I do and just making sure that I stay on that right path.
"I just want to continue to take it step by step. I want to put in the work continuously. For me, that's all that's on my mind, just putting the work in the game of football. Everybody's goal is to make it to the NFL. If you don't want to make it to the pros, then why are you playing the sport, right?"
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
