Many Playoff Berth Battles Coming Down to the Wire

Once again, the boys’ basketball standings really mean something.

When Southern Section principals voted to allow only half of a league’s teams to compete in next week’s Southern Section boys’ basketball playoffs, it marked the end of the come-one, come-all format and added some clout to finishing second, third or fourth.

Teams that fail to finish in the top half of their leagues can still petition the Southern Section office for entry as an at-large team, provided they have at least 10 victories.

Here’s a look at the league races:

Century--El Modena (13-8, 7-1) wins the title outright with a victory tonight against Orange (10-12, 5-3). Santa Ana Valley (13-10, 5-3) and Orange are a game ahead of Foothill (9-14, 3-5) and Villa Park (7-14, 3-5) for the final two playoffs spots.

Empire--Esperanza (18-5, 8-0) will be league champion with a victory tonight over fourth-place Loara (7-15, 2-6). Host Los Alamitos (18-5, 6-2) and Katella (16-6, 5-3) will decide second place tonight.

Freeway--Buena Park Coach Ed Matillo is convinced his team will be in a playoff game against La Habra at a neutral site Saturday afternoon to determine the third-place team. Buena Park (11-11, 4-4) has a tough week, traveling to second-place Fullerton (14-9, 5-3) tonight and then playing host to league champion Sonora (20-3, 8-0) Friday.

La Habra (8-13, 3-5) plays at Sonora tonight and then travels to last-place Troy (9-13, 2-6) Friday. Buena Park and La Habra both will likely finish 4-6 and the teams split in head-to-head competition.

Garden Grove--It seemed as if Kennedy (21-3, 12-0) had the title wrapped up only moments after the conclusion of the Orange tournament. Garden Grove (12-10, 8-4) and Rancho Alamitos (12-11, 8-4) have also clinched berths. Pacifica (12-8, 7-5) and Los Amigos (6-15, 5-7), which play tonight at Los Amigos, are battling for the league’s final spot under the new format that guarantees four berths for an eight-team league.

Olympic--Brethren Christian (17-7, 11-0) clinched the league title outright with its 56-55 victory over Capistrano Valley Christian Tuesday. Capistrano Valley Christian, Whittier Christian and Orange Lutheran have also clinched playoff berths.

Orange--Magnolia (15-6, 7-1) has clinched a playoff spot and can lock up its first league title since 1987 with a victory tonight over Western. Valencia (13-7, 6-2) can clinch a playoff spot with a victory tonight over Anaheim..

The race for third is between Western (15-7, 5-3) and Savanna (9-15, 4-4), who were tri-champions with Brea-Olinda last season. Western plays at Magnolia tonight and then plays host to last-place Anaheim Friday night.

Savanna needs two victories and at least one Western loss to tie for third. The Rebels play host to Brea-Olinda, tied for last place, tonight before playing a tough game at Valencia Friday night.

Pacific Coast--What a mess. League-leader Estancia (13-10, 6-2) is the only team to clinch a playoff berth so far, but second-place Trabuco Hills (18-6, 5-3) can lock up one tonight with a victory at Laguna Hills.

Third-place is still a wide-open battle between the league’s other four teams.

Laguna Beach (12-9, 4-4) leads Century, Laguna Hills and Costa Mesa by one league game with two remaining. Laguna Beach plays Costa Mesa tonight and is at Estancia Friday.

The Artists fought their way back into contention for a Division IV-AA playoff spot by upsetting Estancia, Trabuco Hills and Century. But Laguna Beach has stumbled three times against two of the league’s lower-division teams, losing to Laguna Hills twice and to Costa Mesa.

Century, which has lost its last two games after upsetting Trabuco Hills, finishes the season by playing host to Estancia tonight and Laguna Hills Friday.

Costa Mesa, the league’s biggest surprise this season, has the toughest games left, playing at Laguna Beach tonight and playing host to Trabuco Hills Friday.

Sea View--Seven of the eight league members are still in contention for berths. Only last-place University (5-17, 2-10) is out of the running. The league championship will be decided tonight when Tustin (18-6, 9-3) plays host to Santa Margarita (19-4, 10-2).

Irvine (17-7, 7-5) would appear to have the best shot at finishing third. The Vaqueros play host to Corona del Mar (12-11, 5-7) tonight and finish at Newport Harbor (12-12, 5-7) Friday.

The fourth spot is up for grabs with Woodbridge (12-10, 6-6) and Saddleback (8-15, 4-8) in the hunt with Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor. Saddleback has won three of its last four games.

South Coast--Mater Dei (24-1, 8-0) will enter the playoffs as the top-seeded team in Division I-A for the ninth time in the past 10 years if the Monarchs beat Capistrano Valley (16-8, 7-1) tonight at the Bren Center.

Fortunately for Capistrano Valley, the Cougars compete in Division I-AA and wouldn’t meet Mater Dei again until the Southern California Division I championship game. Mission Viejo (10-12, 4-4) would clinch a playoff spot with a victory tonight at Dana Hills (11-11, 4-4).

A Dana Hills victory would likely force a tie because the Dolphins play at Capistrano Valley Friday and Mission Viejo plays at El Toro (5-16, 1-7).

Sunset--The race here is for the fourth playoff spot after league champion Huntington Beach (22-3, 12-0), Ocean View (13-8, 9-3) and Edison (17-6, 9-3) wrapped up berths 10 days ago.

Four teams--Fountain Valley (11-11, 5-7), Marina (11-13, 4-8), Santa Ana (8-14, 4-8) and Servite (8-14, 4-8)--are still in contention. If Fountain Valley wins at Servite tonight, the Barons are sitting pretty entering the final game against last-place Westminster (7-15, 1-11) Friday.