The opponent will be the same.
The location and seeding, too.
The team, however, will be very different.
For the second straight season, the Pajaro Valley High boys’ basketball team will travel to Soledad High in the first round of the Central Coast Section Division III playoffs.
The Grizzlies (13-11), third-place finishers in the Monterey Bay League Pacific division, will try to recapture the same magic of last year’s upset win over the Aztecs (12-12), who again are the No. 12 seed in the division.
Pajaro Valley again is unseeded.
That did not stop the Grizzlies last season from stunning Soledad in a 50-46 win, the program’s first playoff victory since 2009.
But Pajaro Valley is a much different team this time around.
Forwards Raymond Escobar and Jonathan Chavez, whom combined to score 22 points in last year’s upset, are both gone.
The Grizzlies, however, do have Christian Quintero, who is averaging 21.7 points per game, as a returner from last year’s team, along with several others.
If it is able to pull off the upset, Pajaro Valley will travel to No. 5 Aptos High on Thursday night at 7 p.m. for a second round matchup.
It is Aptos’ (17-9) eighth straight trip to the postseason.
The Mariners, third-place finishers in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League, were one of just four local playoff qualifiers.
St. Francis High received the top seed in Division V, and will be the favorite to repeat as the section champion.
The Sharks (20-6), second-place finishers in the SCCAL, are off until Saturday’s quarterfinal round at Pinewood High.
Monte Vista Christian picked up the No. 8 seed in Division IV, and will host either unseeded Gonzales High or No. 9 Palma on Thursday at 7 p.m.
M.V.C. (15-8) finished fourth in the MBL-Gabilan division, and is making its ninth consecutive postseason appearance.
