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Calexico High is set to face Central Union High in boys' basketball for the Imperial Valley League title Tuesday in El Centro. (IVP PHOTO / February 9, 2013) |
League championship races are coming down to the wire in a few sports in the final week of competition.
The Southwest and Imperial high girls’ basketball teams have already clinched the Imperial Valley and Desert league titles respectively. So has the Imperial boys’ squad, all with league records of 5-0 and only one league game left in their season. The Central Union High’s girls’ soccer team already clinched the IVL title as well.
But a few sports are yet to be decided. Here is a list of those sports that are coming down to the wire this week.
BOYS’ BASKETBALL
Imperial Valley League
When the Southwest High boys’ basketball team was forced to forfeit five games, it dropped it out of the league contention and opened things for Calexico and Central.
That moved Central to 5-0 in league and Calexico to 4-1 in IVL, losing only to Central, 46-43, on Jan. 29.
“We played them well the first time around,” Calexico head coach Juan Valenzuela said. “Defensively, I believe we match well with them. In Calexico, we were down 19 to them and cut it to one and lost in the last second.”
The two will play at Central at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Should the Spartans win, they would win sole possession of the title. If the Bulldogs win, both would share the title but Calexico would get the league’s No. 1 designation for the CIF-San Diego Section playoffs.
Getting the league’s No. 1 designation means a home game in the first round of the playoffs unless pitted against another league champion with a higher seed.
“If my kids come out and play the way we’ve been playing the last four games, we should make a game out of it,” Valenzuela said.
Both also have another nonleague game after Tuesday’s game which won’t affect league standings.
Central head coach Marty Zwart was unavailable for comment.
Manzanita League
Vincent Memorial is 6-1 while Mountain Empire is 7-0 and both are set to square off at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Vincent Memorial in Calexico.
The only loss the Scots have in league is to the Redhawks, 66-63, on Jan. 16.
Both still have two more games left in league so a win by either team wouldn’t mathematically secure the league title but no other team has been able to be competitive against either team in league so far.
Vincent Memorial head coach Pete Contreras was unavailable for comment.
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
Manzanita League
Julian is 5-1 while Vincent Memorial is 4-1. The two will face off at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Vincent Memorial in Calexico. Julian previously beat the Scots, 39-35.
BOYS’ SOCCER
Imperial Valley League
The IVL in boys’ soccer is in a tight race for the title with four teams still battling for the title in the final week.
Brawley leads with a record of 7-1-2 with two games left in league while Central trails at 7-2-2 with one game left in league. Calexico and Southwest are both 4-1-4 with two games left in league and both still have a slim chance at a share of the league crown.
Things could be decided Tuesday in the annual Copa del Valle.
Central is set to host Calexico at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Calexico plays at Palo Verde Valley High at 6 p.m. Thursday.
Southwest plays at Brawley at 6 p.m. Tuesday and at Imperial at 6 p.m. Thursday. Brawley plays at Holtville High at 6 p.m. Thursday.
Citrus East League
Calipatria is 6-0 in league and Vincent Memorial is 5-1.
The Hornets face Borrego Springs at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in Borrego Springs, a team they previously beat 5-1. Then Calipatria faces Vincent Memorial at 3:30 p.m. Friday in Calexico.
The Scots also have a league game before Friday’s battle against Calipatria.
The Hornets won their previous matchup, 2-0, on Jan. 30.
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