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And then there were three.
Three East Bay Athletic League teams are left carrying the banner for the EBAL in the winter sports postseason.
De La Salle and San Ramon Valley on the boys’ side, as well as Carondelet on the girls’ side are all alive in the CIF State Basketball playoffs, all just one game away from playing for a state title.
De La Salle was the No. 2 seed in the Open Division and after a first-round bye, the Spartans stepped up and took out Folsom 47-38 to advance to the NorCal title game.
Waiting there Tuesday night is top-seeded Archbishop Riordan, a 64-57 winner over Salesian in the second round of the tournament.
For a common opponent, Riordan beat SRV early in the season, 74-50. DLS beat San Ramon Valley both times they played this season.
The game is set for Tuesday night at Riordan at 7 p.m. The winner plays the winner of the Southern California final of Roosevelt and Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks.
The state title game is set for Saturday night at 8 p.m. at the Golden One Center in Sacramento.
San Ramon Valley is the No. 5 seed in the D-I CIF playoffs and the Wolves have been comfortable in NorCal in the past, winning the NorCal title last year and falling in the NorCal semifinals in 2023.
The Wolves won a 77-74 overtime thriller against Oakland Tech in the NorCal semifinals.
Now they face Lincoln of Stockton — the No. 3 seed — in Stockton for a spot in the state final against the Sierra Canyon vs. Redondo Union from the Southern California final.
The state title game is set for 8 p.m. Friday night, at the Golden One Center in Sacramento.
Finally, Carondelet took advantage of getting away from San Ramon Valley who was in the Open Division. The Cougars (3 seed) beat Saint Francis, Bishop O’Dowd, and Cardinal Newman to earn a spot in the D-I finals against No. 4 St. Mary’s of Stockton.
The game is set for Carondelet on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. At stake is a berth in the state title game against the Sage Hill-Windward winner.
The state title game is set for Friday night at 6 p.m., also at the Golden One Center.
Other great seasons
Other EBAL teams also advanced to the NorCal playoffs in both basketball and soccer before seeing their seasons come to an end.
San Ramon Valley girls’ basketball, a team we profiled last week, winning the NCS Open Division with a core group that consists of a freshman, four sophomores and a junior, advanced to the second round of the NorCal Open tournament.
In the first round, the Wolves beat Pinewood, a team that handed them one of their losses earlier in the season — and did so with a vengeance, winning 56-32.
That sent them to the second round against 33-0 Clovis West. The Wolves lost 69-62 but served notice to the rest of the state of how bright their future looms.
The Amador Valley girls’ soccer team completed a big season, falling to eventual champion Saint Francis 2-0 in the second round.
The Dons were led by a group of seniors that led a group of youngsters to a fantastic that saw them win the EBAL playoffs, then advance to the NCS finals and then the second round of NCS.
Finally, the California High girls’ basketball went to the third round of NorCal in D-III.
The Grizzlies, who have the absolute misfortune of being stuck in the same league as Carondelet and San Ramon Valley, quietly won their first two NorCal games, beating Los Gatos (58-40), then Redwood (68-60).
Their season ended at 33-12 after falling to Caruthers 64-41 in the NorCal semifinals.
Editor’s note: Dennis Miller is a contributing sports writer for the Pleasanton Weekly. This column originally appeared in Tri-Valley Preps Playbook, a weekly sports e-newsletter published by Embarcadero Media Foundation.
