The Venice High School boys basketball team is seeded No. 6 in the Los Angeles City Section Division II playoffs and will host No. 11 Reseda in the first round of the 16-team draw at 7 p.m. Friday.
Coached by David Galley, the Gondos (14-13 overall, 4-8 in league) finished fifth in the highly-competitive Western League, which had four teams selected to the Division I bracket. Should Venice win its opener it will either host No. 14 Gardena or travel to third-seeded Granada Hills in the quarterfinals Feb. 22.
Wing Tahir Muid and guard Steven Glaza each scored 16 points when Venice beat Reseda 63-54 in the final round of the Huntington Park/Hamilton Invitational on Jan 7.
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The Division II championship game is at 8 p.m. on March 3 at Roybal Learning Center in Los Angeles.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
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The Gondos' girls squad also made the Division II playoffs, but it has a tough draw. Seeded No. 8 out of 16 teams, Venice hosts North Hollywood in the first round at 7 p.m. Thursday and, if victorious, would likely travel to league rival and top-seeded Palisades in the quarterfinals Feb. 21.
Under Coach Dominick Flores, the Gondos (9-17, 3-8) finished fifth out of seven teams in the Western League. The Division II championship game is at 6 p.m. on March 2 at Roybal.
In the Small Schools Division, Animo Venice is the No. 18 seed in the draw of 24 and will travel to 15th-seeded Camino Nuevo in the first round Tuesday at 7 p.m. The winner will take on second-seeded Dantzler in the second round Thursday in Los Angeles. Dantzler beat the Pirates (8-7, 8-4) twice in Ocean League play.
The Small Schools championship game is scheduled for 9 a.m. on March 3 at Cal State Dominguez Hills.
BOYS SOCCER
After finishing second behind Palisades in the Western League, Venice High has earned the No. 28 seed out of 32 teams in the City's Large Schools Division. The Gondos (8-4-2, 7-3-2) will take their four-game winning streak to fifth-seeded Fremont, the Coliseum League champion, in the first round Wednesday (kickoff at 3 p.m.).
If Venice upsets the Pathfinders, it will travel to either No. 21 Sylmar or No. 12 Los Angeles Wilson in the second round Friday. The final is set for 5:30 p.m. on March 3 at Contreras Learning Center in Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, Animo Venice is the No. 12 seed in the Small Schools Division and travels to fifth-seeded East Valley for a first-round game Friday. If they spring the upset, the Pirates would either host No. 13 Downtown Magnets or travel to No. 4 Academia Avance in Los Angeles.
Under Coach Marisha Schumacher-Hodge, Animo Venice went 6-1-3 in the Ocean League, finishing second behind Animo Robinson. The Small Schools final is at 12:30 p.m. on March 3 at Contreras.
GIRLS SOCCER
Animo Venice (12-1, 9-1) earned the No. 5 seed in the City Small Schools Division after capturing the Ocean League title under Coach Kevin Garcia. The Pirates closed the season with four consecutive victories in which they outscored their opponents 22-2.
In the first round of the 16-team bracket Animo Venice hosts 12th-seeded Middle College at 3 p.m. Thursday. The winner will either host No. 13 Animo Robinson or travel to fourth-seeded Fulton. Animo Venice split its two league meetings with Animo Robinson, which finished runner-up in league to the Pirates.
The Small Schools final is at 10 a.m. on March 3 at Contreras.
GIRLS WATER POLO
Fourth-seeded Venice High defeated Granada Hills 7-5 in the quarterfinals of the City playoffs last Friday and advanced to a semifinal showdown Monday against top-seeded Eagle Rock at 3 p.m. at Panorama.
If victorious Monday, the Gondos would play either No. 6 Cleveland or No. 2 El Camino Real for the championship Thursday at 6 p.m. at Contreras. Should the Gondos lose Monday they will face the Cleveland-ECR loser for third-place at 4 p.m. Thursday at Contreras.
