Narbonne, Brea Olinda to Play Waiting Game

Girls’ basketball fans should keep Saturday, Jan. 23, 1999 clear on their calendars.

That’s the date Narbonne will travel to Brea Olinda for a game that could ultimately decide the mythical national champion.

Narbonne is currently ranked seventh by USA Today, Brea Olinda 12th. Brea is ranked first in California by Cal-Hi Sports, Narbonne second. Both should be better next season.

“I’ve heard rumors that if Narbonne wins the rest of its games, they’ll go into next season ranked No. 2 or 3 [nationally],” Brea Olinda Coach Jeff Sink said.

Finalizing the matchup ends a season of rhetoric about one team’s unwillingness to play the other when both are willing to play anyone.

“It’s going to be a mega-game,” Narbonne Coach James Anderson said.

Sink agreed.

“You have a unique situation where you have two highly ranked national teams going into next season that are 30 miles apart, playing in a January game where people from all over can come watch and see a slight contrast in styles,” Sink said. “It will be really good for girls’ basketball.”

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Regular-season competition in boys’ and girls’ basketball and boys’ and girls’ soccer concludes Friday.

Playoff pairings for basketball will be announced Saturday.

The 16-team 4-A and 3-A tournaments begin Feb. 20. The boys’ and girls’ 4-A championship games will be played Friday, March 6 at the Sports Arena and will be televised by KLCS-TV. The 3-A championship games are Saturday, March 7 at Cal State Los Angeles.

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The City soccer season is scheduled to conclude Friday, but teams have until Tuesday to complete games postponed by rain. Pairings for the 32-team boys’ tournament, the girls’ eight-team 4-A tournament and 16-team 3-A tournament will be announced that day.

A championship-game tripleheader will be played March 7 at East Los Angeles College. The girls’ 3-A final starts at 2 p.m., girls’ 4-A final at 4 and the boys’ championship at 6. The girls’ 4-A final and boys’ championship games will be televised by KLCS.