Penn Wood’s Jehki Estrada shoots in the first half as Chester’s Kristian Chambers defends in a recent game. Both the Patriots and Clippers are looking forward to the postseason. (Pete Bannan – MediaNews Group)
It’s been a good year for Central League boys basketball. Three of the top four spots in the District 1 Class 6A tournament are a reflection of that.
Three Central League teams will receive byes when districts begin on Friday, with the brackets released on Sunday (though they remain unofficial until Monday).
Lower Merion (19-4) earned the top seed in the district, with Conestoga (17-6) third and Garnet Valley (17-6) fourth in the 6A fold. That’s in addition to Penncrest (20-2) being the second seed in Class 5A. Penncrest and Lower Merion will meet Monday night for the Central League title, with league playoff games having no bearing on postseason seeding.
Garnet Valley gets a bye until next Tuesday’s second round of the Class 6A tournament, where it will face the winner of No. 13 Bensalem and No. 20 Owen J. Roberts.
Del Val champion Chester (15-7) manages to shoot the gap of Central League teams, but a tantalizing matchup could await nonetheless. As the 15th seed, the Clippers will host No. 18 Downingtown West in Friday’s first round. The winner gets to visit No. 2 Coatesville. The Whippets just dropped a 57-55 overtime decision to Coatesville in the Ches-Mont League semifinals.
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