5-A Champion Mater Dei Is Seeded No. 1 in 11-Team Valencia Basketball Tournament

Defending Southern Section 5-A champion Mater Dei High School is seeded No. 1 in the Valencia basketball tournament, which opens Dec. 1 at Valencia and Esperanza high schools.

The Monarchs, 30-1 last season, have All-America center LeRon Ellis and Kevin Rembert returning.

Lakewood, Fontana and Westminster all have first-round byes in the 11-team tournament. The championship game is 8 p.m. Dec. 5.

The first-round pairings:

At Esperanza: 6:15 p.m.--El Modena vs. Orange; 8--La Habra vs. Esperanza. At Valencia: 6:15--Rancho Alamitos vs. Valencia; 8--Rosemead vs. Mater Dei.