Kaiden Robinson (above) and Sun Valley finished the regular season 18-4. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
By CoBL Staff
The District 1 playoffs get underway on Friday with elimination games in the 5A and 6A brackets. The boys’ 5A bracket has four games, all of which will see one team move into the quarterfinals and the other done for the season.
Here’s a look at Friday’s first-round matchups:
8) Sun Valley vs. 9) Chichester (7:00 PM)
Winner plays 1) Upper Dublin
The Ches-Mont American champs, Sun Valley (18-5) arrived in districts having lost to Bishop Shanahan by two points in the Ches-Mont semifinals. The Vanguards have been playing quality hoops all season long, having won eight of their previous nine before entering the postseason, Steve Maloney’s group undersized but hard-working. Senior guards Kaiden Robinson and Aaron Freeman both return from a group that qualified for states a year ago, and junior wing Aden Bamgbose has really improved over the course of his first varsity campaign. Their best asset is their aggressive 1-3-1 zone trap defense, which Chichester will have to navigate.