Have team league championships lost their cachet?
Shrinking newspaper space, computer and newsletter rankings, weekly “classics” and “challenges” all appear have diminished a once-cherished achievement.
Not quite.
Go to a game and notice the commemorative patches and chevrons adorning the athletes’ letter jackets. Read a coach’s resume and list of accomplishments. Hear the reaction of players and students when their team clinches.
The league championship still is an important part of the season and several are in play as the 120-odd San Diego Section teams eye the pivotal month of February and the upcoming playoffs.
Playoff-qualifying teams will compete in their respected divisions, while select Division I clubs will comprise an eight-team Open division bracket.
Division brackets will change once the CIF state playoffs begin.
Leaders in the San Diego Section’s 21 leagues, comprising the 120-odd teams playing basketball, as of Monday, Jan. 21:
| LEAGUE | TEAM | RECORD | WON-LOSS | DIVISION |
| Avocado East | El Camino | 3-1 | 12-9 | 1 |
| Vista | 3-1 | 14-8 | 1 | |
| Rancho Buena Vista | 3-1 | 19-3 | 2 | |
| Avocado West | Torrey Pines | 4-0 | 17-5 | 1 |
| San Marcos | 4-0 | 14-6 | 1 | |
| Citrus | Victory Christian | 6-0 | 13-8 | 4 |
| City | University City | 6-1 | 15-8 | 3 |
| Coastal | La Jolla Country Day | 4-0 | 15-6 | 1 |
| Desert | Imperial | 2-0 | 13-6 | 4 |
| Eastern | Point Loma | 4-1 | 15-5 | 2 |
| Grossmont Hills | Steele Canyon | 3-1 | 5-13 | 2 |
| Grossmont Valley | Mount Miguel | 3-0 | 16-5 | 2 |
| Manzanita | Calexico Vincent Memorial | 4-0 | 7-9 | 4 |
| Imperial Valley | El Centro Southwest | 3-0 | 8-12 | 3 |
| Mesa | Mater Dei | 4-0 | 12-7 | 1 |
| Ocean | Calvin Christian | 2-0 | 8-6 | 4 |
| Pacific | Orange Glen | 4-0 | 8-10 | 1 |
| Palomar | Poway | 3-0 | 18-5 | 1 |
| Patriot | Southern California Yeshiva | 7-0 | 9-4 | 5 |
| Pioneer | Bonsall | 6-0 | 8-7 | 5 |
| South Bay | Sweetwater | 6-0 | 14-6 | 3 |
| Summit | High Tech San Diego | 4-0 | 10-7 | 4 |
| Valley | Ramona | 4-0 | 12-9 | 3 |
| Western | St. Augustine | 7-0 | 18-4 | 1 |
St. Augustine and Foothills Christian will participate in this week’s big event, the Nike Extravanza Saturday at Santa Ana Mater Dei.
The Saints, No. 13-ranked in the weekly Cal-Hi Sports newsletter and No. 13 in Max Preps, will take on San Juan Capistrano JSerra, ranked 56th by Max Preps.
Foothills Christian, 24th by Max Preps,will play Orange Lutheran, 15th by Max Preps and 17th by Cal-Hi Sports.
St. Augustine is the only area squad in Cal-Hi‘s top 20. Foothills Christian, La Jolla Country Day, Mission Bay, and Torrey Pines are on the bubble.
Union-Tribune Week 8 poll as of Monday, Jan. 21:
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Last Week |
| 1 | St. Augustine (10) | 18-4 | 136 | 1 |
| 2. | Torrey Pines (4) | 17-5 | 129 | 2 |
| 3 | Mission Bay` | 13-7 | 110 | 3 |
| 4 | La Jolla Country Day | 15-6 | 99 | 4 |
| 5 | Foothills Christian | 12-5 | 86 | 5 |
| 6 | Santa Fe Christian | 14-6 | 56 | 6 |
| 7 | San Marcos | 14-6 | 50 | 8 |
| 8 | Francis Parker | 13-5 | 46 | 7 |
| 9 | Poway | 18-5 | 41 | 9 |
| 10 | Rancho Buena Vista | 19-3 | 12 | NR |
NR–Not ranked.
Others receiving votes: Vista (14-8. 4 points), Montrgomery (15-3, 2), Cathedral (14-8, 1), Sweetwater (14-5, 1), Valhalla (18-3, 1).
Voters: John Maffei, The San Diego Union-Tribune; Terry Monahan, Freelance; Steve Brand, San Diego Sports Association; Carlton Hoggard (CIF San Diego Section), Adam Paul, Ramon Scott, EastCountySports.com; John Kentera, Braden Suprenant, 97.3 FM, The Fan; Rick Smith, partletonsports.com; Bodie DeSilva, sandiegopreps.com; Steve Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9 FM; Christian Pedersen, S.D. Preps Insider; Aaron Burgin, Fulltime Hoops; Brad Enright, L.A. Court Report.
Cool