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LONG BEACH – Four boys’ basketball programs likely to be on a short list of candidates with the best opportunity to play in state championship games next March advanced to the Sunday’s semifinals of the Elite 8 Bracket in the Ron Massey Memorial Fall Hoops Classic at McBride High.

Corona Centennial (67-40 over Crean Lutheran) and Santa Maria St. Joseph (80-69 against Mater Dei) captured first-round games Saturday to move into Sunday’s first championship semifinal at 10:10 a.m.

Earning the slots in the second semifinal (at 11:20) were St.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL — Barely a few weeks following the wrap of the summer portion of the of the high school basketball “season” that never ends, “fall” competition is upon us not quite 2 ½ months before the start of the “real” season.

The annual Ron Massey Memorial Falls Hoops Classic tips things off in nifty fashion Saturday at McBride High in Long Beach.

The Pangos Elite 8 bracket is made up a field that includes seven programs that are in my post-Summer Southern California ratings, as well as the program (St.

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WALNUT CREEK, Ca. — The squad wearing white jerseys prevailed, 88-66, over its black-wearing counterpart Sunday afternoon in the Top 20 All-Star game, putting a nifty bow on things while wrapping a successful first-ever Pro-West Exposures Camp at Tice Valley Community College.

The camp, organized and hosted by the Hoops Executive group, provided a showcase for approximately 110 boys’ high school players across the four classes (with one eighth grader).

It has a chance to join Gerry Freitas’ NorCal Tip-Off (the 16^th version is set for Nov.

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WALNUT CREEK, Ca. — The both-ends-of-the-floor dominance of Prolific Prep sophomore Emmanuel Jamgbadi was among the multiple highlights of Saturday’s opening day of the first-ever Pro-West Exposure Camp at Tice Valley Community College.

The camp featured 100-plus high school boys’ basketball players from Northern California, as well as a gifted 6-foot-4 sophomore from Bishop Manogue in Reno, James Williams.

Action concludes Sunday with three sets of two games played hourly, beginning at 9:30 a.m.

Things wrap with Top 60 and Top 40 all-star games at 1 o’clock, and the Top 20 all-star clash at 2 o’clock.

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LONG BEACH — Twenty-nine players — seven of those from outside of Southern California — were put through three hours of drills and scrimmaging Saturday at McBride High during the fifth Kenny Smith-led, Pangos/Full Court Prep Lead Guard Workout.

Smith, now better known as the most insightful member of the NBA on TNT crew, was an all-American guard at the University of North Carolina whose 10-year NBA career included helping lead the Houston Rockets to championships in 1994 and ’95.

Among those in attendance — and, of course, impressing — were point guards who led their teams to California State titles last spring, Trent Perry of Harvard-Westlake, and Jason Crowe Jr.

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