Prep talk: San Pedro vs. Washington Prep tops City Section basketball playoff openers

The high school basketball playoffs begin on Wednesday throughout the Southland, and there's no doubt what should be the best opening matchuip in the City Section: San Pedro at Washington Prep.

No. 5-seeded San Pedro (22-6) won the Marine League title and has a veteran team under coach John Bobich. No. 4-seeded Washington Prep (17-11) won the Coliseum League title has the City Section's leading scorer in Jayshawn Kibble, who's averaging 28 points a game.

"We're ready," Washington Prep coach Jovante King said. Washington Prep lost to Cleveland last season in an Open Division first-round game.

The winner will face either top-seeded Palisades or No. 8-seeded El Camino Real in the semifinals on Feb. 21 at L.A. Southwest College. A Washington Prep-Palisades game would be almost a home game for Washington Prep.

San Pedro likes to play zone defense and rely on its three-point shooting.

Here's the link to City Section pairings.

The Southern Section Open Division begins with Mission League rivals Crespi and top-seeded Sierra Canyon playing at Sierra Canyon. Crespi has been showing improvement in recent weeks, defeating Harvard-Westlake and putting a scare into Sherman Oaks Notre Dame before losing.

Here's the Southern Section schedule.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.