Tesoro Boys Hope to be Titans of Division 1A; SMCHS Girls Can Make Statement at the Outset

If you're a basketball team in the South Coast, Sea View or Trinity leagues, you made the playoffs. Whether you like what you find there is something else entirely.

The Southern Section released on Sunday the that begin this week. The first round in boys' play begins Wednesday, and the girls Thursday.

Tesoro (15-10), which is the this season but then l to finish fourth in the South Coast League boys' standings, received an at-large berth in Division 1A. The Titans didn't fare too badly, either. They play at Walnut (16-10) and, with a victory, will probably play at home against seventh-seeded Crescenta Valley (20-7). The winner of that game will likely face second-seeded Aliso Viejo (24-2) in the quarterfinals

Trabuco Hills (16-10) also opens on the road, at sixth-seeded Pasadena (20-6) in Division 1AA. Santa Margarita Catholic (13-13) is involved in one of the marquee Orange County matchups of the first round of Division 3AA; the Eagles play at Corona del Mar (17-9), a team whose losses come primarily from elite-level programs. 

On the girls' side, Tesoro (14-12), the second place team from the Sea View League, gets a home game in the first round of the Division 2AA playoffs. That's the good news. The bad news is that the Titans face Norco (18-9), a program with a history of doing well in the playoffs.

Trabuco Hills (4-15), which received an at-large berth because there weren't enough qualified teams—or teams that bothered to put in a request for an at-large position—also got into the playoffs despite having the worst record in the playoff field. The Mustangs play at sixth-seeded Corona Centennial (18-9).

Santa Margarita Catholic (9-17) will play top-seeded Rialto (24-3) in Division 2AA.