Sports

The Pajaro Valley High boys’ basketball team rallied, but ultimately fell short in a 64-60 loss to No. 12 Soledad High in the first round of the Central Coast Section Division III playoffs on Tuesday night.

With three league games left, Aptos is only two wins away from clinching at least a share of its third league championship in the last four seasons. The Mariners have had a little help along the way — P.C.S. beating Mt. Madonna on Tuesday left them all alone in the league’s top spot — but for the majority of the season, they’ve controlled their own destiny with dramatic comebacks, various lineup changes and a “next-point” mentality.

Junior catcher hit three home runs, two triples and a double to knock in nine runs over five wins for the Wildcatz last week.

Snelgrove hired at M.V.C. for boys hoops, Aptos finds girls golf and girls volleyball coach and Watsonville opens search for new baseball coach.

Egor Gerasimov defeated Nordic Naturals Challenger defending champ Thanasi Kokkinakis in the Round of 32 on Wednesday.

Guards Jabari Brown and Alex Hamilton and forward Elgin Cook will play on Golden State’s summer league team, which competes in its first game on Saturday against the Philadelphia 76ers at 7:30 p.m. The game will air on ESPN2.

After a disappointing campaign in 2017, there is a palpable excitement heading into the first season of the Rodriguez era. The tempo has been upped, and the player-to-player accountability has been restored. A repeat of last year’s 4-6 record, which was the program’s first losing season since 2013, won’t be acceptable for the players.

Christian Quintero is Pajaro Valley’s star point guard on the basketball team and part of a boys volleyball team that should compete for a league title this season.