Championship Weekend is Here - FTH Previews D4-D5AA
Championship weekend is here!
Seven teams will earn the title of CIF Section champions this weekend, beginning Thursday, when the Division 4, 5 and 5AA title games will take place.
Here's the preview of Thursday's games.
Division 4 Championship - (1) Tri-City Christian vs (6) Del Lago Academy, 5 p.m. at Sage Creek
It is a rubber match between two of the best teams in the Pacific League, which split their first two games during the regular season. The Eagles, which won the league title, only dropped one of their eight league matchups, and it was to the Firebirds on the final day of the regular season, a 56-53 setback. They beat Del Lago earlier in league but needed overtime to come away with a 47-41 win. These teams could not be more different: the Eagles don't have a starter taller than 6-3 and rely on their high-level guard play spearheaded by junior guard Jeramiah Turner. The Firebirds, conversely, have four starters taller than 6-2, the shortest being star point guard Jose Galvan. If the Eagles come out shooting the way they did in the semifinals game against fellow Pacific League squad Escondido Charter (a game they led 39-19 at halftime), they'll be hard to beat. For Del Lago, which won the D5 championship a year ago, they must impose their size on the smaller squad, with heavy doses of senior wings Kiernan Ramirez and Will Dunbard and sophomore forward Dawere Tut.
Prediction: Tri-City Christian 55, Del Lago Academy 53
Division 5 Championship - (1) Pacific Ridge vs (3) Chula Vista, 5 p.m. at Mater Dei Catholic
The Firebirds have had a season for the ages, winning a school record 27 games up to this point, but the last two came with some difficulty. They needed a 10-point fourth quarter comeback to force OT in their 64-58 quarterfinal win over Santana, and avenged one of it's two regular season losses against O'Farrell in the semis, but again needed a buzzer beater to win in dramatic fashion 45-44. Led by its sophomore guard duo of Gavin Fletcher, Lucas Rubino and Alex Besio, the Firebirds are set up for a nice two-year run. The Spartans under first-year coach Dre Phillips are having their best season in nearly two decades and cruised to a 68-46 semifinal win over an undermanned Escondido squad. Led by the senior duo of Elijah Gillespie and Gio Contreras, the Spartans want to use this championship as a springboard for the program's resurgence. For the Firebirds, it comes down to limiting the Spartans three-point attack, while the Spartans will need to force the Firebirds guards into turnovers by speeding them up with pressure.
Prediction: Pacific Ridge 60, Chula Vista 56
Division 5AA Championship - (1) The Cambridge School vs (2) Southern California Yeshiva, 5 p.m. at MiraCosta College
In the section's lowest division, all signs point to a tightly contested game between the Griffins and the Hawks. Top-seeded Cambridge cut their teeth in the underrated Summit League, putting scares into Bayfront Charter and league champ High Tech Chula Vista while also scoring a nonleague win against Calvin Christian and Coastal Academy. They're led by unsung junior guard Kevin Chen and 2025 W Malachi Francisco. For the Hawks, led by head coach Raynell Mills, they've been at their best when their top three players -- seniors Zach Eiseman and Nadav Aron and junior wing Adin Factor -- are all present and accounted for. With them, they were able to score a big win over San Diego Jewish Academy. Without them, they were rolled in some of their later games. But they've rebounded in the playoffs and look back to form. There could be an upset here.
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