M-A, Serra star in CCS opener

Those teams represent four leagues that compete on the Peninsula: Peninsula, West Catholic, West Bay and Private School athletic leagues.

There are two teams — both girls — seeded No. 1 in their bracket: Sacred Heart Prep is No. 1 in Division IV and Woodside Priory is the top seed in Division V.

There are four teams seeded No. 2 — on the girls’ side it’s Sequoia (DI), Aragon (DII) and South City (DII), while Carlmont (DI) represents the boys.

Then there are four matchups that feature county team versus county team. It’s PAL North versus PAL South when El Camino takes on Burlingame in a Division III first-round game Friday night. It’s a PAL-WBAL pairing when Half Moon Bay and Sacred Heart Prep, along with Menlo School and Terra Nova, face off in second-round games Saturday night. It’s private league versus private league when the WBAL’s Crystal Springs matches up with Summit Shasta of the PSAL in a Division V meeting Friday.

The biggest matchup of the first round, as far as San Mateo County fans are concerned, is a PAL-WCAL Open Division battle between Menlo-Atherton and Serra at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Fremont High School in Sunnyvale.

Not only is it a first-round game in the Open Division between the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds, it is also one of those rare occasions when the mythical county championship will be decided.

“I think it’s a great game for the whole Peninsula. … It’s just an intriguing matchup,” said M-A head coach Mike Molieri.

Serra head coach Chuck Rapp doesn’t believe there is any more pressure greater than playing on the road to the CCS finals and beyond. The fact the Padres are facing another county team in the first round of the playoffs is purely a coincidence, as far as Rapp is concerned.

“The stakes are high enough,” Rapp said. “Going into CCS and Nor Cals, where it’s one and done, there’s enough pressure built into it.”

The pairing is interesting because of the styles the two teams employ. M-A, as a team, is truly one where the sum is greater than the parts. The Bears don’t have that one go-to guy, instead relying on several different options to carry the team at different points throughout the season. Justin Anderson is the Bears’ Swiss Army knife, a player who not only beat the opposition with his scoring, but he also knows how to get the rest of the team involved. Guard Nick Tripaldi might be the heart and soul of the team, one who is not afraid of being aggressive. Shooting guard James Beckwith has really come on the last several weeks and they have 6-3 forward Skyler Thomas who can finish around the rim.

“When you watch them on tape, they look a lot like a WCAL team. They share the ball well and they defend,” Rapp said of M-A. “They shoot the ball so well and they have such depth of shooters. They can hit you so many ways. … It’s tough (to game plan for the Bears). Personally, I like those teams, scoring-by-committee. Those teams, someone is going to get hot. It’s harder to defend because you have to defend multiple guys. They have a lot of depth.”

Serra is also the epitome of a team, but the Padres revolve around combo guard Parker McDonald. As McDonald goes, the Padres go. He is capable of taking over a game, but is equally adept at getting his teammates involved.

Cade Rees, a 6-7 wing, will be a matchup nightmare for M-A as Rees is equally comfortable with his back to the basket as he is putting the ball on the floor or spotting up behind the arc. Muti Shuman, the 6-9 center, will also provide problems for the smaller Bears.

“The biggest challenge is the physicality. They’re big, strong, very aggressive defensively,” Molieri said. “We have to utilize our quickness, our ability to move the ball. We want to get up and go. We need to push the ball and get some looks from the outside.”

The Bears will be playing for a lot more than PAL pride, they will be carrying the flag for public school programs as they are the only non-private school that qualified for the eight-team division — the best the section has to offer.

In addition to M-A are seven of the eight teams that make up the WCAL. The only exception is a Valley Christian team that went 1-13 in league play — and earned the No. 2 seed in the Division II bracket.

“I didn’t know we petitioned to become part of the WCAL,” Molieri said wryly.

If the non-league portion of the schedule is any indication, the Bears have proven that they can compete with WCAL schools. WCAL champion Mitty, the No. 1 seed in the Open, beat M-A by a point, 60-59, Dec. 22. The Bears also hung with Bellarmine, the No. 3 seed, for most of the game before succumbing in the fourth quarter and dropping a 57-47 decision.

But Molieri scheduled those games knowing he might see those teams again in the playoffs and the only way that would happen was if the Bears qualified for the Open Division.

“We’re not here (in the Open Division) just to show up. We have the goal of winning. That’s the reason why I purposely have a tough, challenging preseason schedule,” Molieri said. “I have to get these kids in a mindset that we can compete (with the top teams), but more importantly, that we can win. It’s not just about competing. It’s (about) winning.

“We want to play at a high level. [Being in the Open] is a reward for the team playing at a high level.”