East Bay takes it to the WCAL

And the EBAL went 4-2 against the WCAL which included defending CCS Open Division champ, Riordan, but missing NCS Open Division champ De La Salle.

Riordan beat DLS for the 2025 Nor Cal title.

The series kicked off with an unlikely win from Livermore, which buried Sacred Heart Cathedral, 65-40. The win takes on greater importance for the Cowboys. It’s a win that proves their 13-2 start is no fluke. Which is a big deal considering Livermore hasn’t won an EBAL game since the 2013-14 season. The Cowboys were 15-14 last season, their first winning season in more than 20 years.

Livermore’s crosstown rival, Granada, also participated, taking on St. Francis and beating the Lancers, 64-59. The Gauchos, who have emerged as an NCS baseball power over the last couple of years, is 12-3 this season. They had a down 2024-25 campaign, going 8-19, but that was on the heels of back-to-back 26-win seasons.

Dublin High School, which has risen to basketball prominence the last couple of years, made it three EBAL wins in a row as they held off Valley Christian, 63-61. The Gaels advanced to the semifinals of the NCS Open Division bracket, falling to eventual champ De La Salle.

Bellarmine finally got the WCAL on the board as the Bells knocked off the defending NCS Division I champ, Dougherty Valley-San Ramon, 75-63.

Cal-San Ramon got the EBAL back on track as the Grizzlies handed St. Ignatius its first loss of the season, holding on for a 65-64 decision. In the nightcap, Riordan took down Monte Vista-Danville, 67-47.

Despite their struggles against some of the best the East Bay has to offer, the WCAL is hardly on a downturn. SHC, St. Francis, Valley Christian, Bellarmine, St. Ignatius and Riordan are a combined 46-12 this season. The four EBAL teams? A cool 66-27. Only Cal and Monte Vista don’t have double-digit wins and have a combined 13 losses. The other four teams have 13 losses, combined.

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And speaking of the WCAL, the WCAL schedule maker didn’t waste any time in setting up one of the biggest rivalry games of the year as St. Ignatius (9-1) takes on Serra (8-2) in the annual “Jungle Game” Tuesday night in the WCAL opener for both teams.

It’s the second year in a row, and third time in four years, these rivals will face off in the WCAL opener. Last season, the Wildcats topped the Padres 57-43 in San Francisco and the Wildcats completed the regular-season sweep by beating Serra 66-60 in the Jungle Game.

That loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Padres.

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Meanwhile, Serra’s sister school, Notre Dame-Belmont, is the only undefeated team in the county. The Tigers are 9-0 as they prepare to wrap up non-league play against King’s Academy Thursday and Sacred Heart Prep Saturday.

The Tigers will get their first real test of the season, however, in their West Bay Athletic League opener. They’ll take on state small-school power Pinewood in the Foothill Division opener next Tuesday, followed by Menlo School next Thursday.

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In the Peninsula Athletic League, there aren’t necessarily highlight-level games in the opening week. Burlingame has a rough start to Bay Division play as the Panthers take on Carlmont Wednesday in Belmont before getting Jefferson Friday and Menlo-Atherton next Tuesday.

The first week of the girls’ Bay Division schedule, on the other hand, feature a couple of juicy matchups. Mills goes over the hill to take on Half Moon Bay Wednesday, while San Mateo will play its first Bay Division game since the 2011-12 season when the Bearcats take on Menlo-Atherton in Atherton, also on Wednesday.

The PAL used the power division system — Bay, Ocean and Lake — from 2010 to 2012 before returning to it two years ago before scrapping it for just Bay and Ocean for the 2026 campaign.

Nathan Mollat has been covering high school sports in San Mateo County for the San Mateo Daily Journal since 2001. He can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com.