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RANCHO MIRAGE, Ca. – An Open Division championship semifinal of the 13thMaxPreps Holiday Classic will be the setting for a rematch between two of the better teams in the west.

On Dec. 17, in the championship quarterfinals of the Tarkanian Classic, the host Las Vegas Bishop Gorman Gaels trimmed defending champion Redondo Beach (CA) Redondo, 63-58, behind a combined 36 points from juniors Charles O’Bannon Jr. (22) and Christian Popoola Jr. (14).

The teams’ respective second-round MaxPreps victories over Concord (CA) De La Salle and Bentonville (AK) Monday night created the setting for a Tuesday night (8:30) “re-do” of that clash, 12 nights later, in the Rancho Mirage High main gymnasium.

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RANCHO MIRAGE, Ca. – Do you need one example of why comparing scores with common opponents is a deceiving way to project the outcome of a basketball game?

OK, here you go:

On Nov. 28 at, during the ninth Prep2Prep Tip-Off Classic at Newark (CA) Memorial High, Hayward (CA) Moreau Catholic rallied from 16 points down in the second half to stun highly touted Chatsworth (CA) Sierra Canyon, 60-59.

Two weeks later, Mission Hills (CA) Alemany played that same Sierra Canyon squad and was tumbled by the Trail Blazers, 76-55.

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The post-Christmas of high school basketball gets underway in a big way in tournaments throughout the United States on Saturday.

Two of the most notable of those will take place in the outer regions of Southern California.

Those are the 13^th MaxPreps Holiday Classic (the main site is Rancho Mirage High) and the 26^th Under Armour Holiday Classic (the main site Torrey Pines High in San Diego).

There is quite a headliner at Rancho Mirage High:

Southern California’s Chino Hills (9-0) is the top seed in the 16-team MaxPreps “Open Division”.

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REDONDO BEACH, CA – The third Take Flight Challenge, hosted by Redondo Union High, tips off on Jan. 2 with what looks to be an exceptional field of eight games featuring some of the better boys’ basketball teams in Southern California.

The “morning/afternoon session” gets underway at 9:30 a.m., with Lawndale Leuzinger facing L.A. Brentwood.

Pasadena Maranatha-Santa Monica, Compton-Eastvale Roosevelt and L.A. Loyola-Beverly Hills follow at 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2 o’clock, respectively.

The “evening session” is set to begin at 4 o’clock, with Long Beach Poly taking on L.A.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL, CA – Two strong Orange County-based events are on tap for Monday and Tuesday – with exceptional teams and players alike worth checking out.

The Santa Margarita Christmas wraps up Monday with the 3 p.m. championship game between the host Eagles (7-1) and unbeaten San Diego St. Augustine Saints (7-0) – two of the better teams in Southern California.

Each of the squads could be in the CIF Open divisions of the sectional playoffs, Santa Margarita in the Southern and the Saints in the San Diego.

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