CdM, Harbor, Estancia in playoffs

By David Carrillo Pe�aloza Daily Pilot

Like the rest of the boys� basketball coaches, Corona del Mar High�s Ryan Schachter waited for the big news Sunday.

The first playoff pairing announcement came before noon, followed by 20-minute updates for other divisions at the CIF Southern Section headquarters in Los Alamitos.

Soon Schachter would learn which seed his Sea Kings, the defending CIF Southern Section Division III-A champs, earned in the playoffs.

But once he heard, he wasn�t too happy.

Corona del Mar, the Pacific Coast League champ, received a No. 4 seed and a first-round bye, the same as last year. But Schachter�s job in guiding his Sea Kings (20-7, 8-0 in league) to a second championship in his second year will be tough.

�I couldn�t be anymore displeased,� Schachter said of the seed. �Our draw is very difficult to get through. West Valley [of Hemet] and Renaissance Academy [of La Ca�ada] are probably two of the best in our division and we�ll most likely have to face them [to reach the finals].

�It�s going to be very difficult to get out of the quarterfinals. If I were a betting man, I�d bet we wouldn�t [repeat].�

But Schachter added that�s he not a gambler.

CdM, ranked No. 4 in the final Division III-A poll, has a legit shot to claim its sixth title in school history. Whereas as the two other Newport-Mesa programs making the postseason, Newport Harbor and Estancia, their chances to win out aren�t as likely.

News of hosting first-round games was good enough for Newport Harbor Coach Larry Hirst and Estancia Coach Agustin Heredia.

The Sailors (17-9) will open in Division I-A Friday against Huntington Beach (22-4), ranked No. 7 and the second-place team from the Sea View League. The home game is a reward of sorts for Newport Harbor closing out the competitive Sunset League on a six-game winning streak and finishing second at 7-3.

It�s the 12th straight year Hirst has guided Newport Harbor to the postseason. He plans to take a sabbatical next year with his son playing basketball at Edison, but he said the idea of this being his last playoff appearance for awhile with the Sailors hasn�t crossed his mind.

�I�m worried about how to stop their guards [Nicholas Becker and Zachary Kimber]. They like to go a little faster than we do,� said Hirst, whose team plays a lot of half-court basketball with 6-foot-9 senior center Kyle Caldwell (21.3 points and 12.2 rebounds per game) as the main focus.

The Eagles enter the fray in Division III-A as the one local team most unlikely to do so before the season. Estancia has moved on from the troubling 2-24 season in 2006-07 by going 13-13 and placing second in the Orange Coast League this season at 5-4. The Eagles play Wednesday against Sante Fe (18-10), the second-place team from the Del Rio League.

�I�m pleasantly surprised,� said Heredia, the first-year coach, of getting a home playoff game as the last time Estancia did so was in 2004-05. �Just about a week ago we were worried about whether we were going to make the playoffs.�

The local teams are relatively healthy. The exception being CdM as senior forward Joe Eberhard missed the last four regular-season games due to battling flu-like symptoms. Of course Schachter is bugged, but as Hirst said the Sea Kings �must�ve done something right. At least they have a first-round bye.�

That�s the one positive thing Schachter said he took from Sunday.

The Sea Kings will scout the La Quinta (18-7) of La Quinta at Sultana (14-11) of Hesperia opener on Wednesday. CdM will play host to the winner Friday, a win sets things up for a potential quarterfinal game against No. 5-ranked West Valley (20-3), which finished in second place in the Sunbelt League behind power Perris (22-5), the No. 2 seed. Last year, the Sea Kings beat West Valley in the semifinals to reach the finals against Renaissance Academy.

A victory against West Valley, a team Schachter describes �as having the most talent by far� with key players back from last year, and CdM should face No. 1 Renaissance Academy (22-2) in the semifinals.

�Renaissance Academy has everyone back,� said Schachter, who also has key starters in 6-foot-9 senior center Stefan Kaluz (17.4 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game), 6-6 Eberhard (15.5 points, 6.8 rebounds) and junior guard Sean Donovan back from the CdM team that beat Renaissance Academy, 67-59, in last year�s final.

�This is where we were last year. Last year it was tough. I don�t think the road was as tough as it will be this year. I�m not sure if we�re a better team. Talent-wise, yes. Last year guys played their roles, understood their roles. There�s no pressure. No one is expecting us to win.�