TheLounge
02-20-2008, 02:13 PM
The Central Coast Section basketball pairing were loaded on the CCS Web site late Sunday and, as usual, San Mateo is well represented. Fifteen boys’ teams and 13 girls’ team were picked for the playoffs. The Menlo School boys got the highest seed — No. 2 in Division IV —*while the Carlmont girls were the top seed in Division I.
Here are some interesting tidbits gleaned from the CCS brackets:
•*In the boys’ Division I bracket, it’s almost a guarantee that the finals will be a private school versus public school affair. At the top of the bracket are Serra and Bellarmine, seeded No. 3 and No. 2, respectively. At the bottom of the bracket is No. 1 Piedmont Hills and No. 4 Oak Grove. Assuming none of those teams are upset before the semifinals, look for Serra and Piedmont Hills to meet in the finals.
• It could be a short stay for the Mills boys in Division II. If the eighth-seeded Vikings get past No. 9 Lynbrook, the Vikings have the unenviable task of facing top-seeded and nationally ranked Mitty in the quarterfinals. Menlo-Atherton, the No. 3 seed, had a pretty good chance at a CCS finals re-match with the Monarchs. If the Bears can win their quarterfinal game, there’s a good chance they’ll face No. 2 St. Francis, a team that squeaked by the Bears when they met during the pre-season. Look for M-A to return the favor and return to the CCS championship game.
• The Burlingame boys, seeded No. 4 in Division III, are playing its best basketball of the season right now and have a good shot at advancing to the finals —*if the Panthers can get by possible matchups with Sacred Heart Cathedral and top-seeded St. Ignatius. It can be done. I’ve seen both private schools play this season and they are far from unbeatable.
• The Carlmont girls dodged a huge bullet when Wilcox was dropped down to Division II, where it is the No. 2 seed. Carlmont coach Irene Oliveira is concerned that her team hasn’t put a full game together yet but there is no time like the present for the Scots to make a run for its second-straight CCS title and third in four years.
• The girls’ Division II field is absolutely loaded and there are some tough matchups standing in the way of any PAL schools making serious noise. If Mills wins its first game, the Vikings get Wilcox in the quarters. M-A would have the best shot at advancing to the semifinals. If the Bears can win their first game, they would have a quarterfinal matchup with No. 4 Presentation, the weakest of the top four seeds with a record of 12-15. South San Francisco, which had one of its best seasons in years, would face top-seeded Mitty if the Warriors win their first game.
• The girls’ Division III bracket is pretty much Sacred Heart Cathedral’s to lose. The Irish, ranked No. 1 in the country, have not been tested much by Bay Area competition. Burlingame, if it can get past its first game, gets a rematch with No. 2 St. Ignatius, a team that blasted the Panthers last season in CCS.
***
A lot has been made of the West Catholic Athletic League’s dominance over the Peninsula Athletic League over the years.
But there is another league that owns the PAL, and you can’t use the private school-public school argument about this one. The Santa Clara Valley Athletic League dominates the PAL in just about every sport when it comes to the Central Coast Section playoffs. Just going back to the 2001-02 season — the first year the Lounge came to the Peninsula —*shows the SCVAL is head and shoulders above the PAL. When you combine the win-loss records of football, volleyball, boys’ and girls’ basketball, boys’ and girls’ soccer, along with baseball and softball, it shows the SCVAL holds a winning mark of 42-16. PAL football has the worst record, picking up just one win in 16 games between the two leagues —*the lone win coming in the 2003 Division III championship game when San Mateo beat Palo Alto. Since then, the SCVAL has won nine straight games. Baseball is right behind football as PAL baseball teams have won just two of eight encounters. PAL volleyball teams have won five of 16 matches. Boys’ and girls’ soccer, combined, is 8-10. The lone winning record is PAL softball, which is 4-0 against SCVAL opponents.
***
One SCVAL team the PAL won’t have to worry about in the CCS basketball playoffs is the Palo Alto boys’ basketball team. The Vikings had to forfeit 11 games for using what could best be described as an ineligible player.
According to a Palo Alto administrator, the Vikings got a transfer student from Australia. It wasn’t until the end of the season that the school learned the player already had eight semesters of high school under his belt in his homeland, the maximum number allowed by the state. Apparently students start high school a year early in Australia.
Nathan Mollat can be reached by e-mail: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 117.
Here are some interesting tidbits gleaned from the CCS brackets:
•*In the boys’ Division I bracket, it’s almost a guarantee that the finals will be a private school versus public school affair. At the top of the bracket are Serra and Bellarmine, seeded No. 3 and No. 2, respectively. At the bottom of the bracket is No. 1 Piedmont Hills and No. 4 Oak Grove. Assuming none of those teams are upset before the semifinals, look for Serra and Piedmont Hills to meet in the finals.
• It could be a short stay for the Mills boys in Division II. If the eighth-seeded Vikings get past No. 9 Lynbrook, the Vikings have the unenviable task of facing top-seeded and nationally ranked Mitty in the quarterfinals. Menlo-Atherton, the No. 3 seed, had a pretty good chance at a CCS finals re-match with the Monarchs. If the Bears can win their quarterfinal game, there’s a good chance they’ll face No. 2 St. Francis, a team that squeaked by the Bears when they met during the pre-season. Look for M-A to return the favor and return to the CCS championship game.
• The Burlingame boys, seeded No. 4 in Division III, are playing its best basketball of the season right now and have a good shot at advancing to the finals —*if the Panthers can get by possible matchups with Sacred Heart Cathedral and top-seeded St. Ignatius. It can be done. I’ve seen both private schools play this season and they are far from unbeatable.
• The Carlmont girls dodged a huge bullet when Wilcox was dropped down to Division II, where it is the No. 2 seed. Carlmont coach Irene Oliveira is concerned that her team hasn’t put a full game together yet but there is no time like the present for the Scots to make a run for its second-straight CCS title and third in four years.
• The girls’ Division II field is absolutely loaded and there are some tough matchups standing in the way of any PAL schools making serious noise. If Mills wins its first game, the Vikings get Wilcox in the quarters. M-A would have the best shot at advancing to the semifinals. If the Bears can win their first game, they would have a quarterfinal matchup with No. 4 Presentation, the weakest of the top four seeds with a record of 12-15. South San Francisco, which had one of its best seasons in years, would face top-seeded Mitty if the Warriors win their first game.
• The girls’ Division III bracket is pretty much Sacred Heart Cathedral’s to lose. The Irish, ranked No. 1 in the country, have not been tested much by Bay Area competition. Burlingame, if it can get past its first game, gets a rematch with No. 2 St. Ignatius, a team that blasted the Panthers last season in CCS.
***
A lot has been made of the West Catholic Athletic League’s dominance over the Peninsula Athletic League over the years.
But there is another league that owns the PAL, and you can’t use the private school-public school argument about this one. The Santa Clara Valley Athletic League dominates the PAL in just about every sport when it comes to the Central Coast Section playoffs. Just going back to the 2001-02 season — the first year the Lounge came to the Peninsula —*shows the SCVAL is head and shoulders above the PAL. When you combine the win-loss records of football, volleyball, boys’ and girls’ basketball, boys’ and girls’ soccer, along with baseball and softball, it shows the SCVAL holds a winning mark of 42-16. PAL football has the worst record, picking up just one win in 16 games between the two leagues —*the lone win coming in the 2003 Division III championship game when San Mateo beat Palo Alto. Since then, the SCVAL has won nine straight games. Baseball is right behind football as PAL baseball teams have won just two of eight encounters. PAL volleyball teams have won five of 16 matches. Boys’ and girls’ soccer, combined, is 8-10. The lone winning record is PAL softball, which is 4-0 against SCVAL opponents.
***
One SCVAL team the PAL won’t have to worry about in the CCS basketball playoffs is the Palo Alto boys’ basketball team. The Vikings had to forfeit 11 games for using what could best be described as an ineligible player.
According to a Palo Alto administrator, the Vikings got a transfer student from Australia. It wasn’t until the end of the season that the school learned the player already had eight semesters of high school under his belt in his homeland, the maximum number allowed by the state. Apparently students start high school a year early in Australia.
Nathan Mollat can be reached by e-mail: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 117.