Today’s edition is sponsored by The Rose Hotel.
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Welcome to the Playbook!
Each week the Playbook will bring you a story about something related to the current sports taking place locally. With 40-plus years of covering the EBAL, the Playbook knows the landscape of local sports and will bring you the ins and outs, as well as the good (and the bad) of prep sports!
The Playbook is delivered each Tuesday into your inbox! It’s free — you just register to get it. Be sure to share with the players and parents of your team so they can get the Playbook each week too! They can do it at danvillesanramon.com.
The Big Picture is ready for the winter post-season and is here to get you up to speed as well! This week the North Coast Section soccer and basketball playoffs begin, and we want to make sure you know where and when our teams are playing. See who is shooting for NCS titles and berths in the CIF NorCal playoffs.
EBAL Power Rankings are updated following the EBAL playoffs and will next appear following the end of the NCS playoffs. See who sits where heading into the quest for a state title. Big move in girls’ soccer.
What to Watch lets you know where and when our teams take to the field or the court when it comes to the NCS playoffs. Get all the latest news here!
Got a great story idea for something coming up in the winter? Let me know at acesmag@aol.com!
From the sidelines,
Dennis Miller, Playbook Editor
EBAL talent permeates NCS basketball, soccer tourneys – including tough draw for champion Amador girls
I’ve spent most of the year talking about the depth and quality of the East Bay Athletic League – and now we see it on display in the North Coast section tournament brackets.
Power Rankings as of Feb. 17.
EBAL BOYS’ BASKETBALL
1) De La Salle (25-4): The Spartans are hitting on all cylinders right now, rolling Dougherty Valley 74-44 in the championship game of the EBAL playoffs.
2) San Ramon Valley (19-8): The Wolves had the top seed for the playoffs and the chance to sit back until the semifinals but there they ran into De La Salle and fell 60-51 in the semifinals.
3) Dougherty Valley (20-8): Makes it to the finals of crazy tough EBAL playoffs but fall by 30 to De La Salle.
4) California (23-5): The Grizzlies got through the first round with a 57-50 win over Monte Vista, then fell 70-54 in the semifinals to Dougherty Valley.
5) Dublin (23-5): In the first round, the Gaels beat Foothill 62-48, then dropped a second-round game to De La Salle 54-41.
The rest: Amador Valley (19-9), Monte Vista (17-11), Granada (8-19), Foothill (13-15), Livermore (14-13).
EBAL GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
1) San Ramon Valley (25-3): Beat Carondelet yet again, this time 63-54 in the EBAL finals. Will play the Cougars again in the semifinals of the NCS Open playoffs.
2) Carondelet (23-5): The Cougars fall for the second time this year to San Ramon Valley, this time 63-54. Will get matchup No. 3 if they both win first round Open division games.
3) California (18-10): Opened the EBAL playoffs with a 66-40 win over Dougherty Valley but then ran into Carondelet and fell 59-34.
4) Dublin (22-6): The Gaels took out Granada 68-44 in the first game of the playoffs but then fell to San Ramon Valley 85-31 one game short of the finals.
5) Dougherty Valley (18-10): The playoffs started beating Monte Vista 60-47 but then got California and were knocked off.
The rest: Monte Vista (12-15), Granada (12-16), Amador Valley (9-17), Livermore (9-18), Foothill (5-21).
EBAL BOYS’ SOCCER
1. Dougherty Valley (15-3-2): The Wildcats fall 3-1 to De La Salle in the EBAL playoffs but keep the top seed, over De La Salle, despite losing to the Spartans last weekend.
2. De La Salle (15-3-2): The Spartans get into the EBAL title game and turn the tables on Dougherty Valley, winning the title 3-1. But evidently the NCS committee did not follow the game as De La Salle is seeded second in the playoffs, behind the Wildcats.
3. Monte Vista (9-5-2): The Mustangs blasted Granada 4-1 in the first round but then dropped a thrilling shootout loss to De La Salle after finishing regulation in a 2-2 final.
4. San Ramon Valley (12-7-3): The Wolves advanced to the semifinal’s finals with a 4-1 win over Livermore but then fell with a 4-2 loss to Dougherty Valley.
5. Livermore (8-9-4): Got into the EBAL playoffs but were knocked out by San Ramon Valley, falling 4-1 in the first round.
The rest: Granada (12-7-1), California (8-7-7), Amador Valley (4-11-7), Dublin (5-7-6), Foothill (5-11-4).
EBAL GIRLS’ SOCCER
1. Amador Valley (10-3-0): The Dons roll to the EBAL playoff finals where they beat Carondelet, the undefeated regular season champs 1-0, and get no better than the No. 4 seed in the D-I playoffs.
2. Carondelet (17-3-0): The Cougars go through the EBAL season winning every game, then get beaten in the EBAL playoffs 1-0 in overtime to Amador. No worries, they are still the top-seed.
3. San Ramon Valley (10-2-0): Was in the EBAL playoffs but fell in the shootout to Amador Valley after a 0-0 regulation final in the semifinals.
4. Monte Vista (6-5-3): The Mustangs made the EBAL playoffs but got Carondelet in the first round and fell 4-1. Beat Foothill 3-0 in the first round.
5. Foothill (7-5-4): The Falcons dropped their first game of the playoffs to Monte Vista.
The rest: California (7-9-4), Dublin (7-5-3), Granada (7-4-7), Dougherty Valley (5-9-1), Livermore (3-11-1).
Today (Feb. 18)
North Coast Section girls’ basketball (games at 7 p.m.) D-I: Northgate (9) at No. 8 Dublin; Miramonte (12) at California (5). D-III: Pittsburg (12) at Dougherty Valley (5); Monte Vista (10) at James Logan (7).
NCS boys’ basketball (games at 7 p.m.): Pittsburg (16) at Dougherty Valley (1); Monte Vista (9) at Ygnacio Valley (8); Bishop O’Dowd (11) at Amador Valley (6).
NCS boys’ soccer (Games at 7 p.m. unless noted otherwise) D-II: El Cerrito (15) at Granada (2); Liberty (10) at California (7). D-III: College Park (16) at Livermore (1).
NCS girls’ soccer D-II: Foothill (9) at Clayton Valley (8); Granada (13) at Urban (4), 3:30 p.m.; University (10) at Dublin (7).
Wednesday, Feb. 19
NCS boys’ soccer (7 p.m.) D-I: Northgate (16) at Dougherty Valley (1); Windsor (15) at De La Salle (2); San Ramon Valley (10) at Monte Vista (7).
NCS girls’ soccer D-I: Ukiah (16) at Carondelet (1); Vintage (13) at Amador Valley (4); Liberty (15) at San Ramon Valley (2) ; Monte Vista (10) at Casa Grande (7).
Thursday, Feb. 20
NCS girls’ basketball Open Division (7 p.m.): San Ramon Valley (2) vs. bye; Carondelet (3) at Salesian (6).
NCS boys’ basketball Open Division: De La Salle (1) vs. bye; Dublin (4) at Liberty (5); California (6) at San Ramon Valley (3).
Friday, Feb. 21
NCS boys’ basketball (7 p.m.): D-I Dougherty Valley-Pittsburg winner vs. Ygnacio Valley-Monte Vista, TBD; Amador Valley-Bishop O’Dowd vs. Campolindo-Northgate winner, TBD
NCS girls’ basketball D-I: Clayton Valley vs. Dublin-Northgate winner, TBD; California-Miramonte winner vs. Eureka-Washington winner, TBD. D-III: Branson-Antioch winner vs. Dougherty Valley-Pittsburg winner, TBD; James Logan-Monte Vista winner at. St Mary’s (2).
NCS soccer boys’ D-II: Granada-El Cerrito winner vs. California-Liberty winner, TBD. D-III: Livermore-College Park winner vs. Saint Mary’s-Napa winner, TBD.
NCS girls’ soccer D-II: Marin Academy-Salesian winner vs. Foothill-Clayton Valley winner, TBD; Granada-Urban winner vs. Marin Catholic-Terra Linda winner, TBD; Branson-Cardinal Newman winner vs. Dublin-University winner, TBD.
NCS wrestling: All day at Liberty.
Saturday, Feb. 22
NCS boys’ soccer D-I: Dougherty Valley-Northgate winner vs. Acalanes-Redwood winner, TBD; De La Salle-Windsor winner vs. Monte Vista-San Ramon Valley, winner.
NCS girls’ soccer D-I: Carondelet-Ukiah winner vs. Las Lomas-Acalanes winner, TBD; Amador Valley-Vintage winner vs. Tamalpais-Northgate winner, TBD; San Ramon Valley-Liberty winner vs. Monte Vista-Casa Grande winner, TBD.
NCS wrestling: All day at Liberty.
Pleasanton Preps: Amador wrestling takes third place in NCS Dual Meet
And when the dust settled, it was Liberty, Granada, Amador Valley and De La Salle settling in the Top 4 spots.
Dennis Miller is a veteran sports writer and editor, covering sports in the Tri-Valley for over 35 years. In addition to being the editor of Tri-Valley Preps Playbook, he has written a weekly column for Pleasanton Weekly and PleasantonWeekly.com, “Pleasanton Preps,” since 2011. Email him at sports@pleasantonweekly.com.
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