High School Review : New System for Playoffs Gets Off to Very Quiet Start

Aside from the added task of rating 109 teams instead of 48, the mayhem expected to surround the San Diego Section’s seeding meeting for the new five-division basketball playoff format never surfaced, said Kendall Webb, section commissioner.

Last Saturday’s meeting ran four hours, two hours longer than the average of past meetings, but there was little controversy. There wasn’t much to debate since every team was invited to the playoffs.

Only the El Cajon Valley boys’ team (1-19), which finished last in the Grossmont League, declined a trip to the playoffs.

“The big controversial issue in the playoff selection (in the past) was, ‘Were we selected?’ ” Webb said. “Now that everyone is in, the discussion centers around whether we were given a seed or not. But that is far less controversial than not being selected. This way, teams still have a chance to prove themselves.”

First-round play has been expanded to meet the needs of the “second season.” Last year, 32 boys’ and girls’ teams played in the first round of the 2-A and 3-A divisions. The 1-A division did not play a first round.

This season, 66 teams are involved, and the first games for unseeded teams were played Tuesday night. Webb expects few problems to develop, except when a school plays host to boys’ and girls’ games on the same night.

In such a case, the section has recommended a start time of 5:30 for the girls’ game and 7:30 for the boys’.

However, each visiting team has a right to request half the available seating. If both visiting teams, girls’ and boys’, request half of the available seating, something will have to give, according to Webb.

Thus, it is possible that a gymnasium may have to be cleared out after a girls’ game, with each fan then paying again to see the boys’ game, Webb said.

“The host school has to judge and make a decision whether they need to clear out the gym,” he said. “This is better than playing the games at two different sites.”

For the first time since 1982, the Point Loma girls’ basketball team finished the season without sole possession of the Eastern League title. This season, the Pointers (24-2, 8-1 in league play) share the title with Patrick Henry (14-5, 8-1).

In 1982, the Pointers shared the Western League title with University of San Diego High School in 1982.

This season, Point Loma beat Patrick Henry, 62-31, in the teams’ first meeting. The second game, Patrick Henry beat the Pointers, 52-50.

In 1982, Point Loma beat USDHS by a margin of 20 points and in the second meeting lost by two points. In 1982, Point Loma lost to Chula Vista in the semifinals.