The final CIF polls heading into Sunday’s CIF-Southern Section pairings are in these are all that matter. The tournament season and league is virtually meaningless because everyone goes there separate ways in the playoffs with huge advantages for private schools, where enrollment plays a much larger role than competitive equity, despite what anyone says. In boys, Damien is right where it should be, leading 3AAA with Bonita at No. 8. Two-time state champion Lutheran is No. 2 in 4AA, and Glendora slipped all the way to No. 12 in 2AA. But don’t count the Tartans out, they’re in a winnable division. Other teams like Covina, Northview, Wilson, Azusa, Walnut and Chino Hills, all of whom had solid seasons, virtually have no shot in the postseason because of their divisions. Speaking of which, the Bishop Amat girls are still No. 1 in Division 3A despite a 16-9 record and 2-4 mark in the Del Rey. Like I mentioned, league play is meaningless. Bonita is No. 2 in 3AAA and Diamond Ranch is No. 3 in 3AA. Those three are the only teams with a realistic shot at titles. You want to know why basketball playoffs smell of unfairness? While Amat is No. 1 in an easy division with public schools that can’t compete, Duarte and Workman have no chance of doing anything in Division 4AA with teams like Serra and St. Bernard — the teams that beat up on Amat in the Del Rey. Will someone explain how this is fair?

CIF-Southern Section Polls presented by Ford
Boys Basketball
Division 1A: 1. Capistrano Valley, 2. Mission Viejo, 3. Orange Lutheran, 4. El Toro, 5. Crescenta Valley, 6. Chino Hills, 7. Aliso Niguel, 8. Edison, 9. Vista Murrieta, 10. Corona … 15. Walnut.
Division 2A: 1. Compton, 2. Mayfair, 3. Murrieta Valley, 4. Leuzinger, 5. Elsinore, 6. Righetti, 7. Colony, 8. North Torrance, 9. Don Lugo, 10. Westlake…12. Glendora.
Division 3AAA: 1. Damien, 2. Pasadena, 3. Palm Springs, 4. Palm Desert, 5. Tustin, 6. Esperanza, 7. West Torrance, 8. Bonita, 9. Arroyo Grande, 10. Woodbridge
Division 3AA: 1. Calabasas, 2. South Torrance, 3. Torrance, 4. La Canada, 5. San Marcos, 6. Servite, 7. Rancho Alamitos, 8. Bellflower, 9. West Valley, 10. Lakeside …. 13. Los Altos, 14, Charter Oak.
Division 3A: 1. Alemany, 2. St. John Bosco, 3. Oak Park, 4. Santa Margarita, 5. Corona del Mar, 6. Atascadero, 7. Northview, 8. St. Francis, 9. Wilson, 10. Covina, 11. Bishop Amat….14. Azusa.
Division 4AA: 1. Serra, 2. La Verne Lutheran, 3. Bishop Montgomery, 4. Price, 5. Muir, 6. Windward, 7. Crespi, 8. Oaks Christian, 9. Harvard Westlake, 10. Chaminade.

Girls Basketball Polls:
Division 1A: 1. Summit, 2. El Toro, 3. Huntington Beach, 4. Centennial Corona, 5. Riverside Poly, 6. Villa Park, 7. Diamond Bar, 8. Downey, 9. Highland, 10. Katella
Division 3AAA: 1. West Torrance, 2. Bonita, 3. Arroyo Grande, 4. Rio Mesa, 5. Gahr, 6. Kennedy, 7. Sonora, 8. Agoura, 9. Esperanza, 10. Torrance…..14. Arroyo.
Division 3AA: 1. Yorba Linda, 2. Alemany, 3. Diamond Ranch, 4. Laguna Hills, 5. Antelope Valley, 6. Palos Verdes, 7. Irvine, 8. Jurupa Valley, 9. Yucca Valley, 10. Wilson…14. Rosemead.
Division 3A: 1. Bishop Amat, 2. Oak Park, 3. Covina, 4. Atascadero, 5. St. Joseph, 6. La Canada, 7. St. Lucy’s, 8. San Dimas, 9. Charter Oak, 10. Corona del Mar.
Division 4AA: 1. Windward, 2. Oaks Christian, 3. Chaminade, 4. St. Bernard, 5. Serra, 6. JSerra, 7. Muir, 8. Bell-Jeff, 9. Bishop Montgomery, 10. Rosary …. 15. Duarte, 16. Workman.

FINAL TRIBUNE RANKINGS BEFORE PLAYOFFS
BOYS BASKETBALL
1. La Verne Lutheran (18-6) — Loss to Mater Dei, Price next
2. Damien (22-2) — Ready for playoff run?
3. Bonita (21-4) – Dominated Hacienda
4. Glendora (18-8) — Solid third in Baseline
5. Ayala (17-7) — Second best in Sierra
6. Wilson (16-8) — Area’s biggest surprise
7. Covina (17-8) — Couldn’t handle Wilson
8. Rowland (18-8) — Competed all year
9. Northview (19-8) — Better than this
10. Chino Hills (15-9) — Struggled down the stretch

GIRLS BASKETBALL
1. Bonita (22-3) — Undefeated in Hacienda
2. Diamond Ranch (20-6) — Can play with anyone
3. Covina (19-3) — Valle Vista champs
4. Duarte (19-1) — In area’s toughest playoff division
5. Bishop Amat (16-9) — Oh well, No. 1 in 3A
6. St. Lucy’s (16-6) — Nearing Sierra league title
7. Wilson (18-6) — Solid second in VVL
8. Workman (19-5) — Two losses to Duarte
9. Rosemead (17-7) — Another MVL title
10. Diamond Bar (16-8) — Third in Hacienda is good