Skip to content
Brea Olinda coach Jeff Sink yells out instructions to his players on the court against Sonora in Brea on Wednesday, December 14, 2016. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Brea Olinda coach Jeff Sink yells out instructions to his players on the court against Sonora in Brea on Wednesday, December 14, 2016. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Associate mug of Kenny Connolly, Anaheim reporter.

Date shot: 12/31/2012 . Photo by KATE LUCAS /  ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Jeff Sink spent the majority of Sunday afternoon walking the confines of the San Diego Zoo, a sanctuary of sorts for Brea Olinda’s girls basketball coach who enjoys photographing wildlife during his time away from the court.

Making a trip south before the playoffs commence has become a tradition for Sink, a calming getaway before the madness that is the postseason.

“Don’t know how well it’s going to work this year,” he joked, referring to his team’s surprisingly difficult draw in the CIF-SS Open Division bracket.

The Ladcyats will play top-seeded Long Beach Poly (21-3) on Saturday night in the first round.

The underdog theme will be prevalent for all five county teams in the Open Division. Besides Brea Olinda, Mater Dei, Troy, Fairmont Prep and Orangewood Academy also will be the lower-seeded club when the 16-team playoff gauntlet kicks off Saturday.

While Brea gets to play the No. 1 seed, Mater Dei and Troy each drew teams it lost to this season.

The Monarchs suffered a 25-point setback against Harvard-Westlake (22-3) in December, which proved to be its largest loss of the season.

The Warriors hosted and lost to Alemany (20-6) by nine points around the same time.

Fairmont Prep will play Serra of Gardena (20-6), an athletic squad that is sure to utilize the kind of full-court press that has given the Huskies fits at times this season.

And in the 8-9 seeds matchup, Orangewood Academy will have to travel to play at Ventura (20-5), which it lost to twice a season ago.

“I think they have the best shot at advancing,” Sink said of Orangewood. “The rest of us have some work to do.”

Notes from around the county:

• Thursday’s first round will feature four county-vs.-county matchups. In Division 1A, Tesoro will travel to take on second-seeded Esperanza. La Habra makes the trip down to Dana Hills in Division 2A. Costa Mesa will host Los Amigos in Division 4A. And in 4AA, Santa Ana Valley hits the road to play at Laguna Hills.

• Trabuco Hills and San Clemente will also square off this week in Division 3AA, but the two south county schools will do so in the second round as both were awarded first-round byes. The Mustangs enter the postseason on a nine-game win streak. The last team they lost to, however, was the Tritons back on January 5, 54-43.

• Seven other area schools also received first-round byes: Los Alamitos (1AA), Huntington Beach (1A), Aliso Niguel (2A), Savanna (3A), La Quinta (4AA), Godinez (4AA) and Oxford Academy (4AA).

• La Quinta finished the regular season with a 17-9 mark, and in going 7-3 in the Garden Grove League, finished as co-champs alongside Garden Grove. It was the Aztecs first league title since 1994. La Quinta will travel to take on third-seeded Valley Christian on Saturday.