San Pedro headed to City Division I boys basketball semifinals
The San Pedro boys basketball team pulled off a big upset in the L.A. City Section Division I playoffs, defeating second-seeded Granada Hills Charter 60-48 Friday.
AJ Bobich scored 16 points, Noah Simpson had 13 points and seven rebounds and Zach Saavedra had nine points.
Last season, the Pirates made the Open Division, lost in the first round and then made a run to the CIF State Division IV regional semis.
San Pedro returned only one starter (Noah Simpson) this season and has three sophomores (Bobich, Elias Mitchell and Ricky Alonso) making nightly contributions. The Pirates have won 14 of their past 17 games.
“This team has shown they can overcome the constant size disadvantage (tallest starter is 6-foot) with pure hard work, discipline and believing in each other,” coach John Bobich said.
San Pedro will face sixthseeded Crenshaw in the semifinals with the date and location to be announced today.
REDONDO'S SOCCER QUARTERFINAL NOW AT HOME >> Initially, today's Division 2 quarterfinal boys soccer game between Redondo and Foothill was to be played at
Foothill. However, according to the CIF-SS office, Foothill committed a ball violation in Friday's win over Artesia. As a result, the site for the quarterfinal game shifts to Redondo. The game is at 5 p.m. MIRA COSTA ADVANCES IN OPEN DIVISION SOCCER >>After winning their quarterfinal series, the Mira Costa boys and girls soccer teams will now be in the Open Division semifinals.
Both teams play the first leg of their home-and-home series at home. The boys will host top-seeded Arlington today at 5 p.m., with the second leg shifting to Arlington Friday at 6 p.m.
The Mira Costa girls will host Santa Margarita Wednesday at 5 p.m. The teams will meet at Santa Margarita on Saturday at 5 p.m.
AREA GIRLS WATER POLO UPDATE >> Palos Verdes (25-8) is the last South Bay team remaining in the CIF-SS playoffs.
The Sea Kings will be on the road in the Division 3 semifinals Wednesday against Rancho Cucamonga (21-9). The game will be played at Etiwanda High.
PV beat La Serna 9-6 in the quarterfinals Saturday.
In the L.A. City Section, No. 4 seed San Pedro (7-7) will face top seed Birmingham (14-13) in the Open Division semis today at 3 p.m.