Olympia is ranked No. 5 in Class 7A boys basketball, but the Titans won’t have the easy road in the too-close-to-call Region 1 tournament that tips off Saturday.
Olympia is the No. 2 seed behind Oak Ridge in the eight team bracket, based on updated power rankings. But because the Titans lost to Dr. Phillips in a district semifinal they will have to travel to play at seventh-seed Palm Beach Central on Saturday night.
PBC won a district title for the first time and the FHSAA rewards district champions with homecourt advantage for region quarterfinals unless they are playing another district champion that is higher ranked.
Olympia coach Justin Shipp said he anticipated his team’s first round draw before the FHSAA unveiled the playoff pairings in a Monday afternoon YouTube announcement.
“I was talking with Mark Griseck (Windermere coach) Saturday night, checking scores, and we calibrated that this is the way it would go,” Shipp said. “I’ve watched a couple of Palm Beach Central games (video) already and we know it’s going to be tough. They won their district for the first time and they’re playing their best basketball.
“But we like going on the road. At this point, we’re just excited for this time of year.”
Olympia lost only once, against Edgewater, in regular season games played in the opponent’s gym. They won as visitors against five playoff-bound teams: Evans, Lake Brantley, Kissimmee Osceola, Oviedo and Windermere.
Dr. Phillips moved past Windermere and will host the Panthers in a matchup of two of the four 7A District 5 teams that are still alive (including Oak Ridge and Olympia). Top seed Oak Ridge will be home against St. Cloud, which had to win its first district title since 1971 to reach region play and did just that.
Area No. 1 Lake Highland Prep (26-1) joins Oak Ridge as one of five Orange County teams that are top seeds. The others are Winter Park, Evans, and Central Florida Christian Academy.
No. 1 Lake Highland tops No. 3 Windermere Prep | FHSAA boys basketball
Evans stayed No. 1 in its 6A region despite losing 64-38 to Edgewater, a rival it beat by 3 in the regular season. But the Trojans must travel to Tampa to play their quarterfinal against a district winner, Gaither.
CFCA also must travel after losing the 1A-7 final to Orlando Christian Prep, 60-49. The Eagles beat OCP, 44-41, in their regular season clash.
Winter Park will host Sanford Seminole in a matchup of district winners. Lake Mary lost to Seminole in the District 3 final, but kept its No. 2 seed.
Lake Howell wrapped up its regular season with victories against Lake Brantley and at Evans, and then beat Oviedo and highly-ranked Mainland to win 6A District 4. But Mainland retained the top seed slot in Region 2 with the SilverHawks second.
Lake Howell, OCP savor FHSAA boys basketball district titles
District winners Kissimmee Osceola and The First Academy are also No. 2 seeds. The other area district champions were Lake Brantley, Bishop Moore, Eustis, and The First Academy.
Two 20-win teams, 2A Orangewood Christian (20-8) and 1A Geneva School (20-6), didn’t sway the computer enough to advance.
Here are the Saturday matchups with Orlando area teams. Teams are listed with seed and win-loss records:
7A Region 1
No. 8 Seminole (10-16) at No. 1 Winter Park (20-7)
No. 5 Apopka (15-11) at No. 4 Lake Brantley (15-12)
No. 6 Flagler Palm Coast (17-10) at No. 3 Atlantic Coast (20-6)
No. 7 Hagerty (16-9) at No. 2 Lake Mary (20-7)
7A Region 2
No. 8 St. Cloud (22-5) at No. 1 Oak Ridge (17-9)
No. 5 Windermere (14-13) at No. 4 Dr. Phillips (15-12)
No. 6 Wellington (16-8) at No. 3 Jupiter (24-3)
No. 2 Olympia (15-10) at No. 7 Palm Beach Central (19-7)*
7A Region 3
No. 8 Winter Haven (12-14) at No. 1 Sarasota (21-6)
No. 5 Lehigh (23-4) at No. 4 Sumner (16-10)
No. 4 Ridge Community (16-6) at No. 3 Tampa Plant (21-6)
No. 7 Sarasota Riverview (16-10) at No. 2 Osceola (21-5)
6A Region 1
No. 8 Forest (17-8) at No. 1 Mainland (22-3)
No. 5 Buchholz (19-7) at No. 4 Milton (24-3)
No. 6 Oviedo (19-7) at No. 3 Tocoi Creek (22-4)
No. 7 Nease (20-6) at No. 2 Lake Howell (22-5)
6A Region 2
No. 1 Evans (19-7) at No. 8 Gaither (20-7)*
No. 4 Wekiva (20-7) at No. 5 Viera (20-6)*
No. 6 Lakeland (19-7) at No. 3 Bartow (22-5)
No. 7 East River (14-11) at No. 2 Edgewater (17-9)
5A Region 2
No. 8 Leesburg (12-10) at No. 1 Lecanto (21-6)
No. 5 Seabreeze (21-7) at No. 4 Auburndale (19-8)
No. 3 New Smyrna Beach (21-5) at No. 6 Wesley Chapel (16-9)*
No. 7 Pine Ridge (12-14) at No. 2 Ocala Vanguard (19-8)
4A Region 2
No. 8 Satellite (17-10) at No. 1 North Marion (21-3)
No. 5 Eustis (18-6) at No. 4 Eastside (15-8)
No. 6 Lake Weir (13-10) at No. 3 Palm Bay (22-6)
No. 7 Bishop Moore (15-12) at No. 2 Atlantic (19-8)
3A Region 2
No. 8 Astronaut (13-13) at No. 1 Lake Highland Prep (26-1)
No. 5 Calvary (17-10) at No. 4 Tampa Catholic (20-8)
No. 6 Cardinal Mooney (21-5) at No. 3 Windermere Prep (21-6)
No. 7 Discovery (18-7) at No. 2 Villages (20-7)
2A Region 1
No. 8 Bishop Snyder (9-17) at No. 1 Providence (24-3)
No. 5 San Jose Prep (17-9) at No. 4 Rocky Bayou Christian (21-6)
No. 6 P.K. Yonge (12-13) at No. 3 University Christian (13-10)
No. 7 Trinity Catholic (14-12) at No. 2 The First Academy (17-10)
2A Region 2
No. 8 Katz Yeshire (14-8) at No. 1 Santa Fe Catholic (20-7)
No. 5 Lakeland Christian (16-9) at No. 4 Jupiter Christian (16-8)
No. 6 Foundation Academy (13-13) at No. 3 Benjamin (15-10)
No. 2 Holy Trinity (17-9) at No. 7 Melbourne Central Catholic (10-17)*
1A Region 2
No. 1 CFCA (20-6) at No. 8 Halifax (20-8)*
No. 5 Mount Dora Christian (20-7) at No. 4 Florida Prep (18-7)
No. 6 Lake Mary Prep (18-7) at at No. 3 Legacy Charter (18-8)
No. 7 North Tampa Bay Christian (11-16) at No. 2 OCP (19-6)
1A Region 3
No. 8 Universal Academy (18-5) at No. 1 Victory Christian (21-6)
No. 5 All Saints (16-7) at No. 4 Sarasota Christian (17-10)
No. 3 Donahue Catholic (21-6) at No. 6 Everglades City (20-8)*
No. 7 Canterbury (14-7) at No. 2 City of Life (21-6)
(* denotes a district champ hosting a higher-ranked team)
Varsity content editor Buddy Collings can be contacted by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.