Eldorado, Sandia and La Cueva were awarded the top three seeds in the 16-team field.

Conversely, the coaching brethren from District 5-5A were not in a jovial mood.

“Our team? Sure,” Valley coach Joe Coleman said, asked if he felt the Vikings, as a No. 5 seed, were treated fairly by the committee. “Our district? I don’t think so.”

Atrisco Heritage’s Adrian Ortega, coach of the 14th-seeded Jaguars, was singing a similar tune.

“I’m not disappointed in the matchup (with La Cueva),” Ortega said, “but with the respect that our district got.”

La Cueva, 2-5A’s third-place team, was placed ahead of four district champions – Clovis at No. 4, Valley, No. 6 Las Cruces and No. 8 Cibola.

As expected, some coaches found oddness in the way certain teams were slotted. One of the more curious decisions was putting Hobbs (at No. 7) ahead of Cibola.

Cibola won its district, beat Hobbs head-to-head, and also has wins over Eldorado and La Cueva. The Eagles had the better record but were a second-place team in their district.

As a result, Hobbs gets a home game in the first round against No. 10 Volcano Vista, while the Cougars will play host to No. 9 Albuquerque High.

And AHS coach Ron Garcia wasn’t altogether pleased about that. He felt the ‘Dogs, another member of 5-5A, merited a higher seed than Cibola, especially since AHS beat the Cougars this season and had just about as many quality wins – including Sandia and Eldorado – as did Cibola. Cibola also lost to Valley and fell twice to Atrisco Heritage.

“It is what it is,” Garcia said. “I thought we should get a home game. Our district doesn’t get the respect we like it to get.”

AHS won’t have senior point guard Mahlik Sims for the rest of the season, Garcia confirmed Sunday. He said it was a “school issue.” Sims was AHS’ leading scorer and best playmaker.

There are several intriguing first-round matchups on tap next Saturday, including Manzano, the 12 seed, at Valley. The Vikings had to rally past Manzano 62-61 in the regular season.

Atrisco gets a metro final rematch with La Cueva. Volcano takes its defensive-minded ways to Tasker Arena.

CLASS 5A GIRLS: Easily the most eye-popping choice the committe made was to give Valley a No. 8 seed.

Read into this what you will, but the NMAA did not seed any 5A district champion (boys or girls) lower than a No. 8.

The Vikings welcome Las Cruces in the first round Friday.

Clovis, Mayfield, Cibola and Hobbs were the top four seeds. La Cueva was given a No. 5, followed by Volcano Vista, Eldorado and Valley.

Volcano plays No. 11 Sandia in the first round. Eldroado’s Eagles meet No. 10 Rio Rancho.

Class 4A

There is a strong metro flavor to the top four in boys 4A. After Roswell, it was St. Pius, Los Lunas, Bernalillo and Albuquerque Academy.

Los Lunas’ girls were seeded No. 1, and could meet up with No. 4 St. Pius in the semifinals in two weeks.

Class 3A

For the second time in three years, the top three boys’ seeds are from District 5-3A.

It is Hope Christian, St. Michael’s and Sandia Prep atop the bracket.

Hope’s girls were a slam-dunk choice for No. 1.

Class 2A, 1A

Bosque School’s boys were seeded No. 6 in 2A; Menaul was a 13 seed in 1A.
— This article appeared on page B1 of the Albuquerque Journal