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It might be hard to believe, but there are just two weeks left in the East Bay Athletic League basketball and soccer regular seasons.
With the exceptions of the EBAL girls’ basketball race, the leagues will all be decided over the next 14 days before the EBAL playoffs take place.
Here is a breakdown of the four leagues:
Girls’ basketball
Realistically, the regular season title was decided Jan. 9 when San Ramon Valley went to Carondelet and beat the Cougars 58-48.
The two will meet again in the EBAL playoffs championship game. Is there any chance of another EBAL team getting in the way of another titanic showdown?
While nothing is a sure thing, this is about as close to one as possible.
Dublin (16-4, 4-2) and Dougherty Valley (16-3, 4-1) are having amazing seasons and would be contending for a league title in so many other leagues.
The problem is with the Wolves and the Cougars you are talking about two of the best teams in Northern California. As of Jan. 25, San Ramon Valley is No. 8 overall in California, while Carondelet is No. 11.
Dougherty Valley still has a game left with San Ramon Valley but has already lost 83-34 to Carondelet. Dublin, ranked No. 5 in North Coast Section rankings, has faced both giants, losing 66-33 to Carondelet and 76-29 to San Ramon Valley.
What promises to be a great game will take place Feb. 5 when Dougherty Valley will travel to Dublin for the EBAL regular season finale.
California, usually the No. 3 team in the EBAL, has struggled a bit this year and stands 12-7 overall, and 3-2 in EBAL play. The Grizzlies lost to SRV (101-25) and Dublin (57-34) for their two league losses. The Grizzlies close out their regular season with a game at Carondelet.
Boys’ basketball
De La Salle is the team to beat in league as the Spartans stand 19-3 overall and 5-0 in the EBAL.
The big week for the Spartans came when they beat Dougherty Valley (75-66) and Dublin (53-43) in a three-day period. The Spartans are currently ranked No. 23 in the state.
The Spartans have a two-game lead with four games to play in league.
Dougherty Valley (15-7, 3-2) has a loss to De La Salle and an upset loss to Granada last week, but a lot of teams split games this past week.
Dublin (15-7, 2-3) lost to California (70-65), De La Salle, and this past week lost to Amador Valley 45-40.
To me, Amador Valley (14-8, 3-2) is the wild card in league. The Dons have as much talent as any team – maybe the most talent – but they fell 62-46 to De La Salle and 74-63 to Livermore to open league play, a loss that had many around the league scratching their heads.
It would not surprise me to see the Dons put together a big run in the EBAL playoffs, but it would not surprise me if they lost to someone they should beat.
California is another team with a lot of talent, but the Grizzlies have been underachieving and stand at 11-11 overall and 2-3 in league.
The Grizzlies did beat Dublin but lost to a San Ramon Valley team that is 10-12 overall but 3-2 in league.
The Wolves are like their football team – with talent, but very young. They lost to Amador Valley but came back last week with wins over California and Granada.
Granada has been hard to get a consistent read on. The Mats are 15-6 overall but just 2-3 in EBAL play, losing to Monte Vista, Amador, and San Ramon Valley.
Monte Vista is up and down, starting 3-0 in league with wins over Granada, Cal, and Foothill, but this past week the Mustangs fell to Dublin, then Dougherty Valley.
Boys’ soccer
San Ramon Valley is on top of the league at 5-0 and the Wolves have a 2-1 win over De La Salle to open league play. They are 11-3-3 with the losses coming to Rocklin (2-1), Clayton Valley (3-1) and Castro Valley (3-2).
Monte Vista sits a 10-1-2 overall and is also 5-0 in league play. The Mustangs control their own destiny right now as they have games with both De La Salle and San Ramon Valley.
De La Salle is 9-3-1 overall and 4-1 in league with the loss to San Ramon Valley.
Amador Valley (9-5, 2-3) has been on a season of streaks, winning seven straight games early in the season, then losing four in a row. The Dons were able to end the losing streak with an important 2-1 win over Dublin in their most recent game.
Livermore has been playing well as of late with three straight wins to move to 10-5 overall and 3-2 in league following wins over Dougherty Valley, Foothill and California. The losses were against Amador Valley and San Ramon Valley in the Cowboys’ first two league games.
Granada was on a nice roll, standing 8-2-1 overall and 2-1 in league before losing Dougherty Valley and San Ramon Valley in their last two games.
Dublin is another team that was rolling early, standing 8-5-2 overall and 2-0 in league before the Gaels fell to De La Salle (1-0), Monte Vista (2-0) and Amador (2-1).
Girls’ soccer
Carondelet (9-1-3, 5-0) is the lone unbeaten team in league, with big wins over San Ramon Valley (1-0) and Amador Valley (2-1). The Cougars lone loss came to Clayton Valley by a 3-1 margin.
San Ramon Valley (6-1-2, 2-1-2) has a loss to Carondelet as its only blemish. The Wolves have a big win over California, giving the Grizzlies their lone EBAL loss.
California (10-2, 4-1) has been strong all year, losing only 1-0 to James Logan and 1-0 to San Ramon Valley, Blessed with a loaded defensive unit, the Grizzlies still have a date with Carondelet.
Amador Valley (3-1-2, 3-1-1) is a team that no one will want to play in the EBAL playoffs. The Dons have played all of one non-league game, a 0-0 tie with Clayton Valley, the same team that beat Carondelet 3-1. The Dons lost 2-1 to Carondelet and they tied SRV 0-0. The wins have come over Livermore, Granada and Dublin.
Granada (10-2-2, 2-2-1) has run through the non-league games without a loss but came out on the short end of games with California (1-0) and Amador Valley (2-1). In their most recent game, the Mats tied San Ramon Valley 1-1.
Finally, Monte Vista (6-3-3, 3-2) has shown they can play with anyone, beating Foothill, Dublin and Dougherty Valley, while losing to Granada and California.
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. To sign up for free, visit here.
