smith previews d-I semifinals

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SoCalHoops High School News

Paul Smith: CIF San Diego Section
D-I Semifinals Previews--(March 3, 1999)

Things won't get much better for San Diego high school basketball fans than tonight at the Mira Mesa gymnasium. Four Division I teams will battle for the right to play at Cox Arena on Saturday night in the championship game.

Just to clarify, I apologize for not being able to provide information regarding the other four divisions in the county, but my focus all year is with Division I, being associated with a Division I team, and I don't have time in my schedule to delve into the great matchups in the other four divisions between teams that I'm not very familiar with.

Here are quick previews of the Division I semifinal games....

#4 RBV vs. #1 Southwest, 5:30 pm

Southwest puts their unbelievable 30-1 overall record on the line against the most feared Division I team in the county, Rancho Buena Vista.

Southwest is not a team of superstars, but rather a team that plays together, plays hard, and has an unbelievable knack for making the big play when it is most needed. They survived an overtime scare from #16 Valhalla in the first round, and came from behind very late in the game against #8 San Diego to reach the semifinals.

RBV is, to some extent, a team of superstars, at least in that they had a couple of "name" players in Aaron Abrams and C.J. Fellars coming into the season who were both all-CIF last season. It has been a bit of an up and down year for the Longhorns and they've had to suffer through the temporary(?) resignation of their head coach under allegations of committing battery upon the starting point guard. Still, they found a way to share the Palomar League championship with Vista, blow out #13 Mt. Miguel in the first round, and get by #12 El Camino in the second round.

All year long the talk has been whether the talent of RBV can be overcome by this gritty group of kids from the South Bay. On Wednesday night we will find out.

#7 Torrey Pines vs. #3 Bonita Vista, 7:30 pm

Just as we had in the first matchup, it is South Bay vs. North County in another excellent and intriguing matchup.

Torrey Pines is a classic group of overachievers, surprising everyone by winning the very tough Avocado League championship, escaping with an overtime victory in the first round against #10 Morse, and then jolting #2 Helix out of the playoffs on their home floor. Like Southwest, minus perhaps some of the individual athleticism, Torrey Pines has no standout players and instead relies on a great group of role players always finding a way to get the job done.

Bonita Vista has the distinction of handing Southwest their only loss of the season and along with Southwest is the Metro Conference co-champions. Bonita Vista is led by Esquer and Morris, two candidates for all-CIF, and had two fairly easy victories in the first and second round over North County powerhouses #14 Poway and #6 Vista.

Bonita Vista likes to get up and press full-court most if not all of the time, providing for a stark contrast with Torrey Pines' slowdown, strong half-court style. Torrey Pines is the second best defensive team in Division I this season, and Bonita Vista likes to get up and down the floor and score. In other words, this is a game you don't want to miss.