High School

CIF Open Division Semifinals: La Mirada Can Spoil All-Mission League Championship

La Mirada has been deemed the Cinderella team of the 2026 CIF Southern Section Open Division playoffs after beating St. John Bosco and Redondo Union in back-to-back games.

Tarek Fattal

La Mirada coach Randy Oronoz will travel to Harvard-Westlake to compete in the Open Division semifinals Tuesday night.
La Mirada coach Randy Oronoz will travel to Harvard-Westlake to compete in the Open Division semifinals Tuesday night. / La Mirada basketball

The CIF Southern Section Open Division playoffs will take center stage with even brighter lights on Tuesday night. The other nine subsequent divisions (1-9) have its respective finals set, which means the only games in town will be the boys and girls Open semifinals.

All games are set to tip at 7 p.m.

BOYS OPEN DIVISION SEMIFINALS
La Mirada at Harvard-Westlake
Notre Dame at Sierra Canyon

GIRLS OPEN DIVISION SEMIFINALS
Sage Hill at Ontario Christian
Sierra Canyon at Etiwanda

Winners advance to the final set for Saturday night at Toyota Arena in Ontario. The games will be broadcast live on Spectrum and NFHS Network. The boys’ game is at 6 p.m. and the girls’ at 8 p.m.

The boys Open Division semifinal is an indicator of California's best league, which is the Mission League, for producing three of the four semifinalists. The San Fernando Valley might even see an All-Mission League Open Division final.

CAN LA MIRADA BEAT HW?

But not if La Mirada has anything to say about it, which has emerged as the Cinderella team of this 2026 postseason after knocking off St. John Bosco and stunning Redondo Union on Friday night on the road.

“I need everyone to keep picking against us. It’s working,” La Mirada coach Randy Oronoz said.

No. 7 Harvard-Westlake will host No. 12 La Mirada in what feels like a toss-up game. While Oronoz is riding the Cinderella wave, Harvard-Westlake coach David Rebibo isn’t quite getting the praise he deserves this season.

The Wolverines are 25-5 and finished fifth in the Mission League behind Sierra Canyon and Notre Dame. The roster has talent — it has deficiencies, too — but did anyone think Harvard-Westlake would be one win away from another Open Division title game?

The answer is no.

The star matchup (though they might not guard each other much) is Harvard-Westlake’s Joe Sterling (a Texas commit) versus La Mirada’s Gene Roebuck, a highly-touted junior forward who could be a 5-star prospect if he has a good summer.

SIERRA CANYON, NOTRE DAME TILT

This is the game that 'never happened'. Now it's on.

The two teams were supposed to square off on the last day of the regular season on Feb. 4, but due to a tragedy within the Sierra Canyon community, the Mission League tournament final was called off out of respect.

Twenty days later, here we are.

A Mission League champion won’t be crowned Tuesday night, but maybe unofficially. However, is a bigger prize at hand: the chance to play for an Open Division title is on the line.

Sierra Canyon has gotten to this big game before in 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. The Trailblazers won 2019 and 2020 with that star-studded roster that featured Cassius Stanley, Kenyon Martin Jr., Scotty Pippen and a young Amari Bailey.

Notre Dame would be making its second straight trip to the Open Division final after falling short to Eastvale Roosevelt in last year’s final 74-67.

Let’s not forget, Notre Dame had No. 1 recruit Tyran Stoke last year and was expected to have his services this season, but he left for Rainier Beach in Seattle, Wash. in early November. It’s been remarkable to see what coach Matt Sargeant has done with star junior NaVorro Bowman Jr. at the controls.

Sierra Canyon and Notre Dame did face off one time earlier this season in Chatsworth on Jan. 9. The Trailblazers prevailed 78-74 on ESPN2.

SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFF BRACKETS

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Tarek Fattal, SBLive Sports
TAREK FATTAL

Tarek Fattal has been covering high school sports since 2015 in Southern California and primarily in Los Angeles, covering notable athletes such as Bronny James, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Alyssa Thompson. He was with the LA Daily News for eight years, which included being the beat reporter for the UCLA men's basketball team. Tarek can be seen on TV regularly on CBS/KCAL as a sports analyst with Jim Hill.

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