TheLounge
02-13-2008, 12:34 PM
Believe it or not, the winter sports season is in its final weeks. Won’t be too long now before baseball, softball and the other 12 spring sports take center stage.
Until then, however, there is still plenty of basketball and soccer action left. The Peninsula Athletic League and West Catholic Athletic League basketball tournaments are this week, as is the start of the Central Coast Section soccer tournament. CCS basketball tips off next week.
The two biggest surprises of the PAL basketball season were the Terra Nova boys and girls teams. Both finished the league campaign undefeated (10-0) —*the only teams in the PAL to run the table in division play.
The Terra Nova boys have won 13 games in a row, the Tigers last loss coming Dec. 28. They were 2-1 against PAL teams from other divisions —*including a one-point, 53-52, win over Burlingame in the semifinals of the Lions Club tournament. The Tigers lost to Menlo School, 37-25, in the finals of that tournament and then went on to beat San Mateo, 63-60.
So what are the chances of the Tigers running the table and winning the PAL tournament? If they can get out of the first round, they have a chance. But that first-round game is no gimme. The host Menlo-Atherton, which went 8-2 in the PAL South, finishing second behind Menlo School.
A win over the Bears, however, and the Tigers have a shot at advancing to the finals. They would play the winner of Aragon/South San Francisco in the semifinals and could face Burlingame or Menlo School in the finals.
Carlmont is the darkhorse in the boys’ tournament. Although the Scots finished in third place in the PAL South, they were only a few points away from finishing atop the standings. If they can finally get the breaks to go their way, they have a shot.
Not that it’s going to easy. The Scots have to play an in-bracket game. They’ll take on El Camino, with the winner getting PAL Central champ Burlingame in the quarterfinals.
On the girls’ side, Terra Nova also went undefeated in PAL play and have won 11 of 12. The Lady Tigers have a couple of quality wins —*a 32-24 victory over PAL Central champion Mills, and a 47-45 win over Notre Dame-Belmont.
The Lady Tigers have their work cut out for them, however. They draw the unenviable task of facing Menlo-Atherton in the quarterfinals, a team that beat Terra Nova 61-53 earlier this season. M-A finished in a tie for the PAL South title with Carlmont but lost the division’s top-seed to a coinflip.
While Mills has to be the odds-on favorite to win the tournament, San Mateo is a darkhorse entry. While Mills, Burlingame and Carlmont will beat each other up in the upper half of the bracket, San Mateo could have a much easier time. The Bearcats open the tournament against South San Francisco. If they can get by the Warriors, they’ll face the M-A/Terra Nova winner.
San Mateo went 1-1 against Mills this season, suffering a tough two-point loss Jan. 30. They beat Carlmont during the preseason, 60-57, and swept Burlingame for the first time in recent history.
The Bearcats will probably be pulling for Terra Nova because M-A beat San Mateo 59-44 early in the year.
***
It was a banner year for PAL boys’ soccer. The league earned six berths to the CCS tournament — two in Division and four in Division II. If not for Burlingame’s 2-1 win over Carlmont in the PAL tournament, that number probably would have been cut to four teams.
Burlingame’s win, however, catapulted three more teams in CCS. The win earned the Panthers the Bay Division’s final automatic berth. Without that, the Panthers were on the cusp. And with the Burlingame’s win, Terra Nova earned a berth. Without Burlingame beating Carlmont, the Tigers would have stayed home.
Why? Despite having more power points than Burlingame, the Panthers finished ahead of Terra Nova in the standings. A CCS rule states a team can not leapfrog a team ahead of it in the standings. If Burlingame did not earn an automatic bid or qualify for CCS as an at-large, Terra Nova could not either.
But since Burlingame beat Carlmont, the Panthers, Scots and Tigers all qualified.
Now those teams have to go out and prove they belong.
Nathan Mollat can be reached by e-mail: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 117.
Until then, however, there is still plenty of basketball and soccer action left. The Peninsula Athletic League and West Catholic Athletic League basketball tournaments are this week, as is the start of the Central Coast Section soccer tournament. CCS basketball tips off next week.
The two biggest surprises of the PAL basketball season were the Terra Nova boys and girls teams. Both finished the league campaign undefeated (10-0) —*the only teams in the PAL to run the table in division play.
The Terra Nova boys have won 13 games in a row, the Tigers last loss coming Dec. 28. They were 2-1 against PAL teams from other divisions —*including a one-point, 53-52, win over Burlingame in the semifinals of the Lions Club tournament. The Tigers lost to Menlo School, 37-25, in the finals of that tournament and then went on to beat San Mateo, 63-60.
So what are the chances of the Tigers running the table and winning the PAL tournament? If they can get out of the first round, they have a chance. But that first-round game is no gimme. The host Menlo-Atherton, which went 8-2 in the PAL South, finishing second behind Menlo School.
A win over the Bears, however, and the Tigers have a shot at advancing to the finals. They would play the winner of Aragon/South San Francisco in the semifinals and could face Burlingame or Menlo School in the finals.
Carlmont is the darkhorse in the boys’ tournament. Although the Scots finished in third place in the PAL South, they were only a few points away from finishing atop the standings. If they can finally get the breaks to go their way, they have a shot.
Not that it’s going to easy. The Scots have to play an in-bracket game. They’ll take on El Camino, with the winner getting PAL Central champ Burlingame in the quarterfinals.
On the girls’ side, Terra Nova also went undefeated in PAL play and have won 11 of 12. The Lady Tigers have a couple of quality wins —*a 32-24 victory over PAL Central champion Mills, and a 47-45 win over Notre Dame-Belmont.
The Lady Tigers have their work cut out for them, however. They draw the unenviable task of facing Menlo-Atherton in the quarterfinals, a team that beat Terra Nova 61-53 earlier this season. M-A finished in a tie for the PAL South title with Carlmont but lost the division’s top-seed to a coinflip.
While Mills has to be the odds-on favorite to win the tournament, San Mateo is a darkhorse entry. While Mills, Burlingame and Carlmont will beat each other up in the upper half of the bracket, San Mateo could have a much easier time. The Bearcats open the tournament against South San Francisco. If they can get by the Warriors, they’ll face the M-A/Terra Nova winner.
San Mateo went 1-1 against Mills this season, suffering a tough two-point loss Jan. 30. They beat Carlmont during the preseason, 60-57, and swept Burlingame for the first time in recent history.
The Bearcats will probably be pulling for Terra Nova because M-A beat San Mateo 59-44 early in the year.
***
It was a banner year for PAL boys’ soccer. The league earned six berths to the CCS tournament — two in Division and four in Division II. If not for Burlingame’s 2-1 win over Carlmont in the PAL tournament, that number probably would have been cut to four teams.
Burlingame’s win, however, catapulted three more teams in CCS. The win earned the Panthers the Bay Division’s final automatic berth. Without that, the Panthers were on the cusp. And with the Burlingame’s win, Terra Nova earned a berth. Without Burlingame beating Carlmont, the Tigers would have stayed home.
Why? Despite having more power points than Burlingame, the Panthers finished ahead of Terra Nova in the standings. A CCS rule states a team can not leapfrog a team ahead of it in the standings. If Burlingame did not earn an automatic bid or qualify for CCS as an at-large, Terra Nova could not either.
But since Burlingame beat Carlmont, the Panthers, Scots and Tigers all qualified.
Now those teams have to go out and prove they belong.
Nathan Mollat can be reached by e-mail: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 117.