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For the West Ranch, Bishop Montgomery and Corona Centennial boys basketball teams it’s simple: win and advance.
For others, it’s not as simple.
The CIF Southern Section Open Division playoffs will have a dramatic final round of pool play Friday night, particularly in Pool B when Harvard-Westlake hosts West Ranch and St. John Bosco hosts St. Bernard.
West Ranch, which is 2-0 in pool play, needs to beat Harvard-Westlake to win the pool and advance to the Open Division final. Harvard-Westlake (1-1), which lost to St. John Bosco (1-1) Tuesday, needs to beat West Ranch and needs St. Bernard (0-2) to beat St. John Bosco in order to advance.
Here’s a breakdown of how a 3-way tie in the CIF Southern Section Open Division playoffs is determined and how that scenario could play out Friday night in the final round of pool play. pic.twitter.com/q4uzlGD5jz
— Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) February 16, 2023
A Harvard-Westlake win and St. John Bosco victory will create a three-way tie with West Ranch in Pool B, forcing a tiebreaker that will go to fall in the favor of St. John Bosco and send the Braves to the Open Division final at the Honda Center on Feb. 25.
In Pool A, Centennial (2-0) and Bishop Montgomery (1-1) will face off for an unofficial semifinal. The winner will advance to the final. The result of Notre Dame (1-1) versus Sierra Canyon (1-1) will have no baring on the outcome of Pool A, other than final placement, which could impact CIF State placement.
Harvard-Westlake coach David Rebibo said the team’s ultimate goal is to win a CIF State title, which is still attainable no matter what happens Friday night.
The Wolverines were 1 of 15 from the 3-point line in the 62-55 loss to St. John Bosco. The team’s top players, Brady Dunlap and Trent Perry, combined for 8-of-31 shooting.
“The harsh reality is we see teams like Washington State beat Arizona at the McKale…
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