HONOLULU — The Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic presents a special event to help raise funds for the Clarence T.C. Ching Hope Lodge Honolulu, a home-away-from-home for cancer patients and their caregivers traveling from the neighbor islands to Oahu for treatment.

What You Need To Know

  • Tickets for Coaches vs. Cancer Pau Hana Fundraiser are $150 per person and available for purchase online

  • To bid on an auction item, call the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic office at 808-523-3699 or place a bid online

The Coaches vs. Cancer Pau Hana Fundraiser takes place at 7 p.m. Dec. 19 at the Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort’s Kani Ka Pila Grille. Tickets are $150 per person and available for purchase online.

The public is invited to support the fundraiser and talk story with the University of Hawaii Men’s Basketball Head Coach Eran Ganot, as well as other coaches and announcers participating in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic; be part of a special live ESPN Honolulu “Coaches vs Cancer Radio Show”; enjoy a lively pau hana; and bid in a special silent auction, in person or online.

To bid on an auction item, call the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic office at 808-523-3699 or place a bid online.

Items up for bid include courtside tickets to the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic, tickets to the 2024 Maui Invitational, a two-night stay at the Outrigger Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel with a $100 Maui Brewing Company gift card, and more.

For Ganot, the event is special as he helped launch it almost six years ago as a member of the Coaches vs. Cancer national council.

“This fundraiser is an event that I look forward to each year and one that I hold very dear to my heart,” Ganot said in a news release. “The Hope Lodge is such a vital resource to our Hawaii community in the battle against cancer.

“I'm grateful for the turnout of people in supporting such an important cause and am thrilled to see how much it’s grown over the years. I extend a huge mahalo to ESPN Events, Outrigger Resorts & Hotels, and all the fantastic local organizations who have helped make all this possible,” Ganot said.

Daryl Garvin is executive director of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. “Hawaii’s business community’s support continues to grow,” he said.

“We’d like to extend a special mahalo to Coca-Cola Hawaii, ESPN Honolulu, Hawaiian Airlines, Hawaii Pacific Health, Hoffman Communications, Island Energy Services, Kawazoe Group, Matson Foundation, Outrigger Resorts & Hotels, Polynesian Adventure Tours, and Texaco in Hawaii for helping to raise awareness and funds for Coaches vs. Cancer,” said Garvin.

Over $100,000 has been raised for the Clarence T.C. Ching Hope Lodge Honolulu by the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic and its supporters since 2017.

The 2023 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic takes place Dec. 21, 22 and 24 at the SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center featuring a total of 12 tournament games, four games each day. The event has been a holiday tradition for 14 years. Tournament tickets are available online.

Sarah Yamanaka covers events, environmental and community news for Spectrum News Hawaii. She can be reached at sarah.yamanaka@charter.com.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The article has been updated to include dates of the 2023 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.