By Josh Verlin
Conference tournament season is here! The Philadelphia Public League tournament is already underway, and the Pioneer Athletic Conference held its opening round on Wednesday night.
With a few other leagues having their semifinals this weekend and championships early next week (and a few hours off this afternoon), I figured this would be a good time for a quick preview of a few different tournaments. We’ll do a Catholic League preview on its own after that field is finalized on Sunday, as well as district tournament previews next week:
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Central League
1st Round –– Both Games Sat., Feb. 8 @ 3:30 PM
3) Penncrest vs. 6) Strath Haven (@ Lower Merion)
4) Haverford vs. 5) Radnor (@ Garnet Valley)
The boys’ first-round games in the first year of the Central League’s expanded six-team playoffs are both part of boy/girl doubleheaders, hence the somewhat-strange locations, as Haverford (13-9, 9-7) and Radnor (14-8, 9-7) both travel much further than they would have if they were playing at Lower Merion. Regardless, expect a couple of low-scoring, defensive battles, though it’s not as if there aren’t talented players on all four squads. Haverford/Radnor presents a battle of two of the best in the Central League in Fords’ do-it-all junior wing John Seidman and Radnor’s 6-6 forward Jack D’Entremont; though the two won’t likely be matched up much on one another, they have a similar ability to impact the game.