Philip Eliana claims Hawai‘i State 45-plus racquetball title

MAUI — Kaua‘i’s Philip Eliana wasn’t planning on competing in the seventh Annual Hawai‘i State Racquetball Doubles Championships until he realized that no one else from Kaua‘i was participating.

Wanting the island to have at least one representative, Eliana flew out to Maui to play in the tournament. And now, he’s coming back with some hardware.

Eliana partnered with Maui’s Mark Miller to take the state 45-plus division title last week at the Wailuka YMCA.

“Although we’ve never teamed up before, we played very well together and surprised former past champions by beating them to win the first place title,” Eliana said.

It was Miller’s first state title and Eliana’s second — his first coming in 2005.

The Eliana didn’t have much time to bask in his championship. Just minutes after winning the title, Eliana took the court again in the B Division finals with partner Mark Makimoto. Eliana said a long day after a long tournament hindered their quest for the B title.

“Back to back matches are really tough, especially on the third day of the tournament,” he said.

The pair lost the match, but Eliana said he was happy with brining back a first and second place trophy home. He’s even happier he’s brining back his health.

“It’s always great to do well,” he said, “but I’m happy that at my age I made it through this event without getting any major injuries.”