The Central Coast Section basketball playoffs are set and other than the Menlo-Atherton boys’ team jumping some other worthy schools to grab an Open Division bid, there weren’t a whole lot of surprises.
In all, 43 San Mateo County teams made the playoffs — 15 of the 17 PAL boys’ teams made the cut, along with three from the West Bay Athletic League and two from the Private School Athletic League.
On the girls’ side, 13 of 17 PAL teams earned bids, along with six teams from the WBAL and two from the PSAL.
Here is the breakdown of each division. All games are at 7 p.m. unless noted otherwise.
BOYS
Open Division
Not only did Menlo-Atherton (18-6) earn a bid to the Open, the Bears got the No. 5 seed.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that the Bears are in the same pool, Pool A, as No. 1 Riordan (23-1), No. 4 Valley Christian (17-7) and No. 8 Mitty (13-11).
The Bears open Friday night at No. 4 Valley.
Serra (15-9) also made the Open Division cut as the No. 7 seed and will face off against No. 2 St. Ignatius (17-7), No. 3 Bellarmine (17-7) and No. 6 Milpitas (21-3).
The Padres will be at No. 2 St. Ignatius Friday night. All Open Division teams are guaranteed three games are automatically advance to the Nor Cal regional tournament.
Division I
Sequoia and Carlmont represent the PAL in this division, with the 12th-seeded Ravens hosting unseeded Fremont (12-12) in a first-round game Friday night. The winner gets No. 5 Leigh (14-9) Saturday night.
No. 3 Carlmont (14-10) has bye to Tuesday’s quarterfinals, with Hollister, No. 11 Independence and No. 6 Santa Teresa in the Scots’ part of the bracket.
Palo Alto (20-4) is the No. 1 seed
Division II
No local teams play in first-round game Friday night, as No. 7 Woodside (9-14) will face the winner of Leland (13-11) and No. 10 Rancho San Juan (13-11) Saturday.
No. 8 Aragon (13-10) will host either Andrew Hills (8-16) or No. 9 Monta Vista (18-6) Saturday night, with the winner getting top-seeded Christopher (22-2) in the quarterfinals Tuesday.
No. 3 San Mateo (19-5) has a bye into the quarterfinals and will host either Lincoln (14-10), No. 11 Gunn (8-16) or No. 6 Wilcox (14-10).
Division III
This division holds the most PAL teams, with four making the cut, two of which have first-round games Friday. Unranked South City (12-10) will be at No. 11 Oak Grove (11-13), with the winner getting No. 6 Burlingame (11-13) at Aragon Saturday.
No. 12 Mills (8-16) will host unranked Del Mar (9-14), with the winner advancing to take on No. 5 Saratoga (17-7) Saturday.
El Camino (18-6), the No. 7 seed, also has a first-round bye and will face the winner of Live Oak (11-13) and No. 10 Soledad (14-10).
Aptos (22-4) is the top seed in Division III.
Division IV
This division has the most San Mateo County teams, with seven squads earning a bid. No. 10 Terra Nova (13-11) and No. 11 Capuchino (9-15) both have first-round games Friday night, with the Tigers hosting unseeded Design Tech (14-9), while the Mustangs will host unseeded Gunderson (12-7).
The Marina (10-14)-No. 12 Harker (13-11) winner will take on No. 5 Menlo School (14-10) in Atherton Saturday night, while No. 8 Jefferson (12-12) will host the winner of Stevenson (11-13) and No. 9 Scotts Valley (12-14) in the last home game with the Grizzlies’ old gym.
Half Moon Bay (17-7) got the No. 3 seed while Sacred Heart Prep (15-9) is No. 4 and both have byes into next week’s quarterfinals.
King’s Academy (20-4) is the No. 1 seed in Division IV.
Division V
Oceana is the only PAL team in this bracket, which features a number of teams from the PSAL and WBAL.
Recommended for you
The unseeded Sharks will be on the road at No. 10 Crystal (9-14) Friday, with the winner getting No. 7 Eastside College Prep (17-7) Saturday.
PSAL champ Summit Shasta (21-3) got the No. 3 seed, while 18-6 Priory is No. 1
GIRLS
Open Division
Priory is the only county team to make what is an all-private school bracket.
The Panthers (20-4) got the No. 3 seed and will be grouped in Pool B with No. 2 Pinewood (20-3), No. 6 St. Francis (17-7) and No. 7 Sacred Heart Cathedral (14-10).
Priory opens play Friday night when the Panthers host St. Francis.
Pool A has top-seeded Mitty (21-3), No. 4 Riordan (17-7), No. 5 St. Ignatius (14-10) and No. 8 Valley Christian (15-9).
Division I
Carlmont and Menlo-Atherton represent the PAL in this division, with the 10th-seeded Scots hosting unseeded Milpitas (9-15) Friday night.
M-A (17-7) has a bye into the quarterfinals Tuesday and will face either Leigh (11-13), No. 11 Mountain View (19-4) or No. 6 Hollister (14-9).
Los Gatos (16-8) is the No. 1 seed.
Division II
Four county teams made this bracket, with No. 12 Woodside (13-11) facing unseeded Lincoln (12-6) in a first-round game Friday night. The winner advances to No. 5 Prospect (17-6) Saturday night.
No. 6 San Mateo (20-4) got a first-round bye and will host either Andrew Hill (10-12) or No. 11 Wilcox (13-11) Saturday. Burlingame (15-8) got the No. 10 seed and will be at No. 7 Willow Glen (14-10) for a second-round game Saturday night.
Hillsdale (20-4) is the No. 1 seed and will face either No. 9 Gunn (17-7) or No. 8 Westmont (17-7) in a quarterfinal game Tuesday night.
Division III
Five PAL squads made this bracket, with a chance of an all-PAL matchup in the quarterfinals.
Capuchino (12-10) got paired with No. 11 Del Mar (15-9) in a first-round game Friday night, with the winner moving on to face No. 6 Westmoor (7-15) in the second round Saturday night.
South City (8-16) has a first-round matchup with No. 10 Saratoga (13-11). The winner takes on No. 7 El Camino (14-10) Saturday, with the winner of that game getting No. 2 Mills (14-10) in a quarterfinal game next Tuesday.
Notre Dame-SJ (10-9) is the No. 1 seed in this bracket.
Division IV
Like the boys, the girls’ Division IV bracket is chock full of county teams — seven.
No. 11 Design Tech (14-6) is the only county team with a first-round game Friday night, hosting San Lorenzo Valley (9-13). The winner takes on No. 6 Sacred Heart Prep (9-14) Saturday night.
Terra Nova (14-10) got the No. 10 seed and will be at No. 7 King’s Academy (16-8) for a second-round game Saturday night, as will No. 12 Mercy (7-11) when the Bears take on No. 5 Scotts Valley (20-2).
No. 4 Notre Dame-Belmont (14-8), No. 2 Half Moon Bay (18-6) and top-seeded Menlo School (15-8) all have byes into Tuesday’s quarterfinals.
Division V
Crystal and Summit Shasta are the only two county representatives in this bracket.
No. 6 Crystal (7-9) will get the winner of DCP El Primero (6-12)-No. 11 Anzar (10-11) in a second-round game Saturday night.
Summit Shasta (14-5) received the No. 2 seed and has a bye to the quarterfinals. Castilleja (18-3) is the No. 1 seed.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.