Playoffs Feature Western Flavor

The Western League emerged as the big winner Saturday when playoff pairings for the City Section boys’ basketball playoffs were announced after a seeding meeting at Manual Arts High.

Four Western League teams are in the 16-team City Championship Division, including the No. 1 and No. 2-seeded teams. As expected, Westchester (22-1) is the top-seeded team, but second-place Fairfax (19-5) was a surprise pick at No. 2 ahead of Coliseum League co-champions Fremont (17-6) and Crenshaw (19-5).

The 12-member selection committee voted the Western League strongest in the City. Fairfax’s only two losses against City opponents came against defending section champion Westchester in league play.

“I was worried that they might give No. 2 to a league champion, but obviously this was the best I could’ve hoped for,” Fairfax Coach Harvey Kitani said.

Fremont and Crenshaw each finished 8-2 in the Coliseum League, losing to each other and third-place Dorsey. Fremont won a coin-flip with Crenshaw to determine the league’s first-place representative.

Fremont is seeded third, Crenshaw fourth.

“I was shocked that one of us [Fremont or Crenshaw] didn’t get the second seed,” Fremont Coach Sam Sullivan said. “Ours was voted the second-strongest league and we won it, so we should’ve gotten the second seed.”

Westchester hosts Marshall, the Northern League champion, in a first-round game Friday. Fairfax hosts 15th-seeded Chatsworth, the second-place team from the West Valley League.

Fremont hosts 14th-seeded North Hollywood (Sunset Six No. 2), and Crenshaw hosts 13th-seeded Palisades (Western League No. 4). Fifth-seeded Dorsey (Coliseum No. 3) hosts 12th-seeded Venice (Western No. 3), and Eastern League champion South Gate, seeded sixth, will host No. 11 Gardena.

Jordan is the top-seeded team in the Invitational Division for teams ranked 17-32.

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Defending City and State Division I champion Harbor City Narbonne is seeded No. 1 in the girls’ Championship Division playoffs, followed by Western League champion Westchester and Coliseum League champion Crenshaw.

Narbonne is one of four teams from the Marine League among the eight seeded teams. Gardena, which finished second behind Narbonne, is seeded fifth, Carson sixth and Washington eighth.

Woodland Hills El Camino Real is the top-seeded team in the Invitational Division.