HONOLULU – On February 24, Chaminade University Athletics welcomed Terri Chong and Thomas "Chico" Furtado as the newest members into the Athletics Hall of Fame.
Although the Silverswords struggled in the won-loss column during her career, Chong, who played from 1989 to 1992, still put up record numbers as an outside hitter and is considered one of the finest volleyball players to wear a Chaminade uniform.
Under her maiden name, Terri Bertulfo, she is the program's all-time kills leader with 1,487. She still holds records in single season kills with 615 set in 1990 and single match kills with 36 against Grand Canyon on Oct. 12, 1992.
She also remains in the career top 10 in three other categories including hitting percentage (7th, .295), service aces (3rd, 115) and total blocks (4th, 258).
Chong graduated with her business degree from Chaminade and worked as an escrow officer and a branch manager in the years that followed. One of her three children, Kaya Chong, played for the 'Swords from 2013 to '15.
Furtado was one of the foundational players who helped begin the Chaminade men's basketball lore. Following a standout prep career at Iolani School, he enrolled at Chaminade in 1976, the school's first year playing against all four-year college opponents. A year later, another Chaminade Hall of Famer came in to take over the reins of the team – head coach Merv Lopes.
During Furtado's four-year playing career, the fiery guard amassed 486 career assists, which is third all-time, while his career 5.8 assists per game average is second. His 21 assists against California Baptist on Dec. 29, 1978 remains the school's single-game record.
Furtado was also an elite scorer, racking up 1,015 career points, where he was, at the time, became just the third player in school history to reach the millennium scoring mark, joining the late Will Pounds and Roy Villanova.
During his career, the 'Swords were 72-31 and earned the school's first two postseason berths. In 1979, Chaminade came within a game of reaching the NCAA Division III title game, and a year later, the 'Swords qualified for the NAIA District 2 playoffs.
Today, Furtado is known to local sports fans as a longtime coach in the prep ranks and is currently the head coach for the Maryknoll High School girls' team. This past February, he guided the Spartans to the program's first-ever state championship, which was also his first as a head coach.
The Silversword Hall of Fame induction was a part of the Silverswords Gala, a benefit dinner for student and athletic scholarships.
Portraits of Chong and Furtado will be displayed at the Chaminade Hall of Fame wall, located on the Athletics Training Room on the upper floor of McCabe Gymnasium.
