An emotional finale at Kelly Shea-Gallo basketball tournament

“I could hear from behind me my coach said: ‘Senior! Hit it!’” Dong said. “And then I just shot it up, and it went in. And then I turned around, he was giving me a big high-five.”

It was a moment gleaning a positive from tragedy.

It has been just over one month since Justin Matsu’s father, former Mills coach Dave Matsu, died Oct. 14 of stroke-related complications at age 54. Dong is one of three seniors on a Vikings team that was in the midst of preparing for the current season when they received the news of Dave Matsu’s death. He had been overseeing strength and conditioning just days before he was rushed to Kaiser Permanente Redwood City Medical Center the week prior to his passing.

Friday would have been Dave Matsu’s 55th birthday. So, the finale of this year’s Kelly Shea-Gallo Tournament — dedicated to for another beloved former Mills coach who died too soon; Shea-Gallo succumbed to cancer in 2004 — became a sudden embrace of the “ohana” culture Dave Matsu spent his 15 years at Mills building with great success.

“We always preach ‘ohana,’” Dong said, speaking the Hawaiian word for ‘family’ as the natural vernacular it has become around the Mills gym. “We’re all family. So, it’s hitting us hard. So, this year, it’s a little bit more special, but I think it’s probably going to be one of the most difficult years. But it kind of just pushes us harder to make him proud. ... It does hit us hard, but we’re all doing it for him, and each other.”

Mills took third place in the three-day, eight-team tournament, claiming a 42-32 win over Sacred Heart Prep. Justin Matsu had all but lost his voice by the end of the Vikings’ third game of the tourney, having opened Wednesday with a 63-35 win over Cristo Rey-San Jose before falling to the third-place bracket with Thursday’s 68-16 loss to eventual champion Pinewood.

“Three days of coaching,” Justin Matsu said. “I love this team. It’s loud. My dad always told me to use my voice a little more. So, I’m just trying to be a little louder out there.”

Mills was clinging to a 28-24 lead early in the fourth quarter when Dong led a mini-run. She went coast-to-coast off a steal for a layup to push it to 30-24. The next time down, she exacted a nice assist pass to Tang, who finished with a strong left-side layup through traffic to make it 32-24.

But the senior saved her best moment for last, crushing the corner 3 with her coach shouting in her ear to shoot.

“It was awesome,” Justin Matsu said. “She’s a four-year player for us. She’s been big. She’s grown every year, just her confidence to hit a big shot like that was awesome. And to have Michelle pass it to her, they’re our two best friends on the team. They do everything together. So it was ... a best-friends connection right there, and just a big-time shot. I was just so happy for her to hit it.”

The emotion of the night was felt on both sides of the court. SHP head coach Kai Bell knows the “ohana” culture well. Not only did Dave Matsu used to coach at SHP before Bell’s arrival, he was extra welcoming as Mills’ coach when Bell, who is half Hawaiian, took the job coaching at the Atherton private school.

“That’s all Dave’s personality,” Bell said. “Just being able to open his arms, and his way, and welcome everybody in. It’s a beautiful thing. It was rough. And, coming here, you can’t help it, ever since he passed, I’ve been thinking about coming here for this tournament and knowing how hard it’s going to be, not seeing him here.”

For Justin Matsu, the “ohana” culture transcends his life. With his father taking over the Mills program in 2007-08, he grew up at the Mills gym. He joined the coaching staff three years ago, and last year was named head coach, a promotion Dave Matsu insisted upon. The two coached side-by-side for two seasons.

“We talk about it every day, we’re ‘ohana,’” Justin Matsu said. “From the moment this all happened, we’ve talked about embracing all the emotions — the sadness, the happiness, all the laughs. We’re just relying on each other.”

Bell presented Justin Matsu with a Hawaiian lei prior to Friday’s game. It was one of the many ways Dave Matsu’s legacy was honored, and the “ohana” culture was upheld in his memory.

“I think we’re just trying to take it day by day and game by game,” Justin Matsu said. “Obviously we miss him out there. We keep that seat open for him, all the players touch it every time they come off the court just to keep his presence. We talk about a fire from within that he fuels, and that’s what we’ve got to play with every day. And I think the girls are doing all right with that.”