Title Hopes Are on Line in City, Southern Sections

Here’s your guide to Saturday’s championship games in City Section and Southern Section boys’ basketball. Surprisingly, 17-time section champion Santa Ana Mater Dei and four-time defending City champion Westchester aren’t playing. Get ready for a weekend of mostly close games.

CITY CHAMPIONSHIP

Woodland Hills Taft (26-2) vs. Los Angeles Fairfax (23-4) at the Sports Arena, 7 p.m.

Story line: UCLA Coach Ben Howland wishes he had a private jet to whisk him back from Oregon to watch two future Bruins duel. Josh Shipp of Fairfax and Jordan Farmar of Taft are the top candidates for City player of the year, and the determining factor could be who can lead his team to the City title. Shipp, averaging 30.4 points, and Farmar, averaging 27.5, have vowed not to let their teams lose. Something or someone has to break the deadlock. That person is 6-foot-7 junior Jamal Boykin of Fairfax. Boykin has dominated the last two playoff games, scoring 26 and 29 points.

Unknown factor: Sophomore guard Calvin Haynes of Taft sat out the first 21 games because of academic ineligibility. If he can repeat his 27-point performance in the quarterfinals against Crenshaw, a Taft upset is possible.

History lesson: Fairfax has been City runner-up four times since 1995. Taft is trying to become the first San Fernando Valley team to win the upper division championship since Granada Hills in 1964.

Prediction: Fairfax.

SOUTHERN SECTION

DIVISION I-AA

Etiwanda (29-1) vs. Long Beach Poly (27-3) at the Arrowhead Pond, 8:15 p.m.

Story line: The 17-time section champion Jackrabbits have a tradition and experience edge over Etiwanda, which has never won a title. Poly’s three senior standouts, 6-6 Chris Fields, 6-8 Marcus Lewis and 6-4 Curtis Allen, were impressive in a semifinal rout of talented Lynwood. Etiwanda, with no transfer students, is trying to prove a strictly neighborhood team can still win a championship. The Eagles have three junior starters who figure to be heavily recruited by colleges next season, point guard Darren Collison, center Jeff Pendergraph and shooting guard David Carter.

Unknown factor: Etiwanda’s guards are its strength. Poly’s guards are its weakness. Can the Jackrabbits’ A.J. Laguana and Rich Han come through in the most important game of their high school careers?

History lesson: First-year Poly Coach Sharrief Metoyer was groomed to take over for the legendary Ron Palmer, serving five years as his assistant. Etiwanda Coach Dave Kleckner lost to Mater Dei in the 1997 section final.

Prediction: Poly.

DIVISION I-A

Mission Viejo (25-5) vs. Huntington Beach Marina (24-7) at the Arrowhead Pond, 6:30 p.m.

Story line: Get ready for a low-scoring, grind-it-out defensive struggle between teams that rely on football players. Mission Viejo has five football players on its roster, led by 235-pound linebacker Jed Collins, an emotional, intense 6-3 center who hustles all over the court, deflects passes, rebounds and doesn’t like losing. Freshman point guard Perry Webster is steady and ready for a big game. Marina has 6-3 Matt Brennan, the school’s quarterback, who’s averaging 17.4 points. Senior guard James Lambert is averaging 17.9 points.

Unknown factor: Chemistry can be more important than talent, and Marina has found a way to reach the final by playing unselfish basketball.

History lesson: Arizona’s Lute Olson coached at Marina in the 1960s. Cherokee Parks led Marina to a I-A runner-up spot in 1991.

Prediction: Mission Viejo.

DIVISION II-AA

Villa Park (23-8) vs. Fullerton Sunny Hills (18-13) at the Arrowhead Pond, 12:30 p.m.

Story line: No one can figure out how Sunny Hills got here. The Lancers lost nine of 10 games in December, but in the playoffs, they’ve eliminated the No. 2- and 3-seeded teams. They’re trying to pull off a “Hoosiers”-like ending behind shooting guard James Kim and 6-8 defensive specialist Mickey Gonzalez. Villa Park survived its own rough stretch in December, losing five of six games. The Spartans have won eight in a row. Leading the way are senior point guard Kyle Johnson and 6-4 senior forward Chris Yakanian.

Unknown factor: Will Sunny Hills’ loud, energetic fans fill the Pond? They wave black towels and serve as inspiration for the players. “It’s been something I’ve never seen before,” Sunny Hills Coach Randy Wellen said. “They keep coming out in droves. It’s amazing how loud they are.”

History lesson: Neither team has won a section championship. Villa Park defeated Sunny Hills, 48-44, in a nonleague game Jan. 3.

Prediction: Sunny Hills.

DIVISION II-A

Compton Dominguez (26-5) vs. Inglewood (21-10) at the Arrowhead Pond, 2:15 p.m.

Story line: Respect is what unranked Inglewood sought when the playoffs began, and the Sentinels earned it with their upset of Mater Dei in the semifinals. They have a dangerous three-point scoring threat in 6-3 senior Jonathan Joshua, who had 33 points and made six three-point baskets against Mater Dei. It’s taken only two seasons for Dominguez Coach Russell Otis to restore the Dons to basketball prominence, aided by a steady flow of transfer students. Dominguez has transfers from Carson, Louisiana, Palos Verdes Estates Rolling Hills Prep and Bellflower St. John Bosco. Center LaMar Roberson from Louisiana is tough and effective.

Unknown factor: Inglewood’s victory over Mater Dei was so shocking and satisfying that the players could have a difficult time raising their game to have a chance for another upset.

History lesson: Dominguez won seven consecutive section championships from 1995 to 2001 and was ranked No. 1 in the nation in 2000. Inglewood, led by Ralph Jackson, won the 1980 Division I championship.

Prediction: Dominguez.

DIVISION III-AA

Santa Margarita (26-3) vs. Calabasas (25-4) at the Arrowhead Pond, 9 a.m.

Story line: Calabasas is a bigger underdog than the Florida Marlins were to the New York Yankees. Santa Margarita is playing as well as any team in Southern California. However, Calabasas thrives in its underdog role. Drew Housman, a 5-8, 140-pound underrated point guard for Calabasas, keeps frustrating opponents by drawing fouls. He’s averaging 18.7 points and made 12 of 15 free throws in the semifinals. “He knows how to play,” Santa Margarita Coach Jerry DeBusk said. The Eagles have a size advantage with 6-11 Todd Follmer and 6-8 James Keefe.

Unknown factor: Is Keefe the next great Orange County basketball player? Only a sophomore, he has come through with 17 and 14 rebounds in his last two playoff games.

History lesson: Calabasas, which opened in 1975, has never won a league title, let alone a section title. Santa Margarita has won three section titles and one state title.

Prediction: Santa Margarita.

DIVISION III-A

North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake (21-7) vs. Compton Centennial (28-2) at Arrowhead Pond, 10:45 a.m.

Story line: Centennial has lost four consecutive years in the final, including an overtime defeat to Harvard-Westlake last season. Arron Afflalo, the Apaches’ All-American guard, is fed up. “I want a ring on my finger,” he said. This is Centennial’s best team, because of its offensive balance and unselfish attitude. Harvard-Westlake is reaching peak form after underachieving early. Alex Stepheson, a 6-8 sophomore, has 20 and 21 rebounds in the last two games. And Oregon-bound guard Bryce Taylor, averaging 24.7 points, is capable of making three-point shots by the bunch.

Unknown factor: Ed White of Harvard-Westlake is no point guard, but that’s the position he has been forced to play because of an injury during the football season to Tep Royster. White is smart, tough and resilient, but can he handle Centennial’s defensive pressure?

History lesson: The Apaches know how to shut down high-scoring guards. They held Taft’s Farmar to eight points on one-of-13 shooting in a 21-point nonleague victory in December.

Prediction: Centennial.

Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.