Phillip Reed and the Dolphins are seeded No. 1 in the City Open Division playoffs, which begin Wednesday night.
Photo: STEVE GALLUZZO
By STEVE GALLUZZO
CTN Contributor
Thirteen months ago, a devastating wildfire left Palisades High boys basketball coach Jeff Bryant and his team without a gym to play or practice in. Now the Dolphins find themselves three wins away from completing a comeback story straight out of a movie.
After winning the Western League in dominant fashion, Palisades is seeded No. 1 in the City Section’s highest playoff division and hosts El Camino Real in the quarterfinals of the eight-team Open bracket Wednesday night at 7. If the Dolphins win they will face either No. 4 Washington Prep or No. 5 San Pedro in the semifinals on Saturday, February 21, at Pasadena City College or LA Southwest College.
The championship game tips off at 8 p.m. Feb. 27 at LA Southwest College.
“I’m not surprised we’re the No. 1 seed, although getting that hasn’t been my focus,” said Bryant, who led the Dolphins to the City Open semifinals and then the Division III regional semifinals last winter in his first season. “We just wanted to show every day and get better and we knew the rest would play out.”
This marks the first time since the Open Division debuted in 2014-15 that Palisades has earned the top seed. It has been a remarkable turnaround for a group that started 3-12, including a six-game losing streak from December 23 to January 3. After 42 consecutive games away from home dating all the way back to the middle of last season, the Dolphins made a triumphant return to their own gym January 29, beating Fairfax by 47 points behind junior transfer OJ Popoola’s 19 points and 16 more from his twin brother EJ.
“We’re peaking at the right time,” Bryant added. “Our biggest hurdle has been staying healthy. God willing we stay healthy the rest of the way. If we can, the sky is the limit.”
Palisades won its 12 league games by an average of 36 points and played the second toughest schedule of any City team behind only second-seeded Cleveland, the West Valley League champion. The Dolphins enter the postseason red hot having won nine games in a row and 14 of their last 15.
Fresh off their first outright league title since 1996, the Dolphins want to write more history by winning their third section championship and first since capturing the Division I title in 2020. Only once in program annals has Palisades ended the season as the undisputed best team in the City and that was back in 1969, four decades before any of the current Dolphins were born.
Despite finishing in a three-way tie for second in league, Palisades’ girls squad also made the Open Division in Coach LeBre Merritt’s first season. The Dolphins are seeded seventh seed and will travel to No. 2 Birmingham in the quarterfinals Thursday.
Palisades and Birmingham last met in a midseason tournament game in December 2023 and the Patriots won 68-37 on the way to capturing their second Open Division title in three seasons.
Palisades won three straight City crowns (one in Division I, two in the Open) from 2019-21 under former coach Adam Levine.
CITY SECTION PLAYOFFS
BOYS OPEN DIVISION
Quarterfinals
Wednesday at 7 p.m.
#8 El Camino Real (16-12) at #1 Palisades (17-11)
#5 San Pedro (22-6) at #4 Washington Prep (17-11)
#6 Fairfax (19-9) at #3 Birmingham (18-6)
#7 Narbonne (16-12) at #2 Cleveland (18-9)
Note: Semifinals Feb. 21; Finals Feb. 27.
GIRLS OPEN DIVISION
Quarterfinals
Thursday at 7 p.m.
#8 King/Drew (21-7) at #1 Westchester (23-3)
#5 Venice (18-9) at #4 Granada Hills (20-8)
#6 Cleveland (15-13) at #3 LA Hamilton (19-9)
#7 Palisades (12-12) at #2 Birmingham (25-3)
Note: Semifinals Feb. 21; Finals Feb. 28.