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The East Bay Athletic League boys’ basketball playoffs started last night and end with the championship game on Saturday.
And if the playoffs are even half as intense as the regular season, you best buckle up and get ready for a wild ride.
“Every game has been a season changer,” said Dublin coach Tom Costello. “But win or lose, you have to get up the next morning and get back at it.”
The EBAL has a storied history in basketball of teams that have won league or section titles. There’s even been NorCal titles as well.
This year is different. There are college players dotting most of the rosters, making for talented teams that are ranked throughout not just Northern California, but the entire state.
The reality is, there has never been as deep of league. Take for instance, you can make a case for seven of the 10-teams in the playoffs to win it all.
“It’s completely crazy,” said California coach Steve Ohlmeyer. “Monte Vista (the 7th seed) could get on a 3-4 game run and end up in the finals.”
To be fair, it’s not like the Mustangs ended up in seventh place. There were four teams that finished with 5-4 records. The teams drew cards before the season started in case of ties in the final standings. It was needed with San Ramon Valley, California, Monte Vista, and Granada all finishing at 5-4.
The drawing of cards left the middle four seeds as California (4), San Ramon Valley (5), Granada (6), and Monte Vista (7) drawing into those seeds.
“That really shows the depth,” said Ohlmeyer.
In addition, Monte Vista beat both Dougherty Valley and De La Salle, the top two seeds in the playoffs.
It’s not just a deep league, but an overly talented, deep league.
“I’ve been watching this league my entire life,” said Dougherty Valley coach Mike Hansen, the son of iconic Foothill coach Tom Hansen. “I’ve never seen anything like this. There are college players on every team.”
There are examples of the strength of the league up and down the list of teams.
San Ramon Valley is the No. 5 seed but boasts a 16-1 non-league record. Yet the Wolves were 1-4 at one point in the EBAL before catching fire and running off four straight wins to end the regular season.
As mentioned earlier in the story, Monte Vista is the No. 7 seed, but beat the top two seeds, handing Dougherty Valley its only EBAL loss.
Dougherty Valley has but three losses on the season, with the one to Monte Vista coming with the Wildcats missing their best player. The other two losses came to strong Southern California teams in St. Augustine of San Diego (22-4 record), and Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks (20-9).
Then there was No. 8 Amador Valley with a 2-7 EBAL record, playing Dublin to an 8-point decision, De La Salle to 11 points, and Granada to seven-point margin.
It’s the quality of the league that has the teams prepped for a strong postseason run.
“I definitely think it helps,” said Costello of the rigorous EBAL season. “We are beating up on each other all season and then we head off to NCS. It can be tough, but it mentally prepares you for the postseason.”
“It helps when you are battle tested every game,” said Hansen. “Going through this really gets you ready for the postseason.”
Take the last game of the regular season with Dougherty Valley at Dublin, an 80-65 win for Dougherty. The entire vibe, including the game and the spectators added to postseason preparation.
It had been since 2016 that the Wildcats had beaten the Gaels – with Dublin holding a 10-game win streak over Dougherty.
“There was 2,700 people at the game,” said Costello. “The stands were packed, it was 6-7 people deep standing behind one basket, then we had bleachers added and those were full. We even opened all the doors and had people watching from outside.”
For Ohlmeyer it has been a case of perfect timing with this Grizzlies team. Toughest league schedule ever and the team answered the bell.
“We haven’t had a winning record in league in 15 years,” said Ohlmeyer. “We talked to the team and said look at the season and be proud of it. It had been nine years since we had won a game at Foothill and 10 years since winning at Monte Vista. It has made our guys needing to realize that winning is expected.”
What happens by the end of this week is anyone’s guess, but the one sure thing is it is going be a grind, filled with excitement.
“It’s a cliché to say one game at a time, but this year it is really true,” said Ohlmeyer.
