See this story at BrooklynDaily.com.
By Joseph Staszewski
Brooklyn Daily
March should belong to Brooklyn’s basketball teams.
Nationally ranked Abraham Lincoln is the clear favorite to win a second-straight Public School Athletic League Class AA boys’ basketball crown. This squad is also the school’s best chance yet to bring home its first state Federation title since 2008.
They could very well have a fellow Brooklyn school in their way. Catholic High School league regular season most valuable player Khadeen Carrington and Bishop Loughlin are in the mix with Christ the King, Cardinal Hayes, and St. Peter’s to earn Loughlin’s first intersectional crown since 1992 after winning the diocesan title last weekend. A game between the Railsplitters and Lions in the Federation tournament would be a can’t-miss spectacle.
Lincoln isn’t the only Brooklyn school looking for consecutive crowns. Nazareth will try to earn a second-straight Catholic A state title after winning the B two years ago. Getting Manhattan-bound forwards Samson Usilo and Samson Akilo another championship would be a fitting end to their high school careers.
St. Edmund is the favorite to grab the Catholic B crown. Brooklyn Communications is the top seed in the public school B playoffs. Poly Prep and Dwight will both be eyeing private school state crowns and second-seeded Bedford Academy will try to bring home the public school A hardware.
There are legitimate title contenders on the girls’ side also. South Shore is the top-seeded team in the Public School Athletic League Class AA playoffs for the third-straight season, but is still in search of its first title. South Shore will likely have to get past Brooklyn Collegiate and Midwood to get to the title game. Is this the season Vikings center Brianna Frasier, a Maryland commit, and her teammates finally end Murry Bergtraum’s 15-year reign as champs?
The Nazareth girls’ basketball team knows what it’s like to win a title at the highest classification. South Carolina-bound star Bianca Cuevas won a state Federation Class AA title as a freshman. But one of the best Christ the King teams on recent years stands in Naz’s way.
Fontbonne Hall, Bishop Kearney and St. Edmund will duke it out for the Brooklyn-Queens Division II crown. Canarsie will look to make a run in the public school A playoffs.
No matter what the outcomes, Brooklyn will be well-represented during the city’s basketball playoffs. The local teams are in position to make this a memorable March.