What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Jan. 29, 2022: Basketball showcases set

By: Don Rebel
Saturday, January 29, 2022 | 12:33 AM

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It will be a busy weekend of high school hoops at Montour as the PBC Classic holds a two-day event with six boys basketball games Saturday and six more Sunday.

The first game Saturday tips off at noon while Sunday’s action begins at 11 a.m.

The field includes four defending WPIAL champions and five current Trib HSSN top-ranked teams.

Here is the schedule:

Saturday

Moon vs. Hopewell at 12 p.m.

Baldwin vs. Blackhawk at 1:30 p.m.

Highlands vs. Quaker Valley at 3 p.m.

Shady Side Academy vs. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart at 4:30 p.m.

Uniontown vs. Montour at 6 p.m.

Penn Hills vs. North Allegheny at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday

Canon-McMillan vs. Beaver Falls at 11 a.m.

Mars vs. Aliquippa at 12:30 p.m.

Ellwood City vs. Sto-Rox at 2 p.m.

Upper St. Clair vs. North Hills at 3:30 p.m.

Shaler vs. Chartiers Valley at 5 p.m.

Belle Vernon vs. Bishop Canevin at 6:30 p.m.

Sunday at Seton Hill

The PBC Classic isn’t the only high school basketball event taking place this weekend.

The annual Shootout at Seton Hill will be held Sunday and feature three boys games and two girls contests.

Here is the schedule:

Girls: Franklin Regional vs. Greensburg Central Catholic at 1 p.m.

Boys: Homer-Center vs. Franklin Regional at 2:30 p.m.

Girls: Indiana vs. Southmoreland at 4 p.m.

Boys: Latrobe vs. Greensburg Central Catholic at 6 p.m.

Boys: Geibel Catholic vs. Jeannette at 7:30 p.m.

We’ve got ‘more’ spirit

The 2022 PIAA Competitive Spirit Championships move to Day 2 on Saturday at the Giant Center in Hershey with the semifinals and finals.

The teams in each division were split into two groups with the top 25% of each panel moving on to Saturday’s finals.

Class 3A and 2A large varsity only had one grouping each.

Here are the WPIAL teams that qualified for the state finals from Friday’s preliminary round:

3A large varsity: Hempfield finished third and Penn-Trafford was fourth out of 19 teams.

3A small varsity: North Hills finished fifth in Panel A, Thomas Jefferson was second in Panel B

2A large varsity: Laurel finished first out of 14 teams

2A small varsity: No district teams advanced

Co-ed varsity: Butler finished second out of 14 teams

The WPIAL teams that did not qualify for the state finals and will participate in the semifinals on Saturday are:

3A large varsity: Baldwin ended up in sixth place, South Fayette finished seventh and Norwin ninth out of 19 teams

3A small varsity: Plum finished sixth in Panel A, Pine-Richland eighth in Panel A, Seneca Valley 10th in Panel B

2A large varsity: Neshannock was fifth out of 14 teams

2A small varsity: Hopewell finished seventh in Panel A, Ringgold was eighth in Panel B

The five defending state champions from last year are District 12 St. Hubert in 3A large varsity, South Fayette in 3A small varsity, District 6 Bishop McCort in 2A large varsity, District 12 Lansdale Catholic in 2A small varsity and District 10 McDowell in co-ed varsity.