CdM, Harbor, Estancia in playoffs

Like the rest of the boys’ basketball coaches, Corona del Mar High’s Ryan Schachter waited for the big news Sunday.

The first playoff pairing announcement came before noon, followed by 20-minute updates for other divisions at the CIF Southern Section headquarters in Los Alamitos.

Soon Schachter would learn which seed his Sea Kings, the defending CIF Southern Section Division III-A champs, earned in the playoffs.

But once he heard, he wasn’t too happy.

Corona del Mar, the Pacific Coast League champ, received a No. 4 seed and a first-round bye, the same as last year. But Schachter’s job in guiding his Sea Kings (20-7, 8-0 in league) to a second championship in his second year will be tough.

“I couldn’t be anymore displeased,” Schachter said of the seed. “Our draw is very difficult to get through. West Valley [of Hemet] and Renaissance Academy [of La Cañada] are probably two of the best in our division and we’ll most likely have to face them [to reach the finals].

“It’s going to be very difficult to get out of the quarterfinals. If I were a betting man, I’d bet we wouldn’t [repeat].”

But Schachter added that’s he not a gambler.

CdM, ranked No. 4 in the final Division III-A poll, has a legit shot to claim its sixth title in school history. Whereas as the two other Newport-Mesa programs making the postseason, Newport Harbor and Estancia, their chances to win out aren’t as likely.

News of hosting first-round games was good enough for Newport Harbor Coach Larry Hirst and Estancia Coach Agustin Heredia.

The Sailors (17-9) will open in Division I-A Friday against Huntington Beach (22-4), ranked No. 7 and the second-place team from the Sea View League. The home game is a reward of sorts for Newport Harbor closing out the competitive Sunset League on a six-game winning streak and finishing second at 7-3.

It’s the 12th straight year Hirst has guided Newport Harbor to the postseason. He plans to take a sabbatical next year with his son playing basketball at Edison, but he said the idea of this being his last playoff appearance for awhile with the Sailors hasn’t crossed his mind.

“I’m worried about how to stop their guards [Nicholas Becker and Zachary Kimber]. They like to go a little faster than we do,” said Hirst, whose team plays a lot of half-court basketball with 6-foot-9 senior center Kyle Caldwell (21.3 points and 12.2 rebounds per game) as the main focus.

The Eagles enter the fray in Division III-A as the one local team most unlikely to do so before the season. Estancia has moved on from the troubling 2-24 season in 2006-07 by going 13-13 and placing second in the Orange Coast League this season at 5-4. The Eagles play Wednesday against Sante Fe (18-10), the second-place team from the Del Rio League.

“I’m pleasantly surprised,” said Heredia, the first-year coach, of getting a home playoff game as the last time Estancia did so was in 2004-05. “Just about a week ago we were worried about whether we were going to make the playoffs.”

The local teams are relatively healthy. The exception being CdM as senior forward Joe Eberhard missed the last four regular-season games due to battling flu-like symptoms. Of course Schachter is bugged, but as Hirst said the Sea Kings “must’ve done something right. At least they have a first-round bye.”

That’s the one positive thing Schachter said he took from Sunday.

The Sea Kings will scout the La Quinta (18-7) of La Quinta at Sultana (14-11) of Hesperia opener on Wednesday. CdM will play host to the winner Friday, a win sets things up for a potential quarterfinal game against No. 5-ranked West Valley (20-3), which finished in second place in the Sunbelt League behind power Perris (22-5), the No. 2 seed. Last year, the Sea Kings beat West Valley in the semifinals to reach the finals against Renaissance Academy.

A victory against West Valley, a team Schachter describes “as having the most talent by far” with key players back from last year, and CdM should face No. 1 Renaissance Academy (22-2) in the semifinals.

“Renaissance Academy has everyone back,” said Schachter, who also has key starters in 6-foot-9 senior center Stefan Kaluz (17.4 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game), 6-6 Eberhard (15.5 points, 6.8 rebounds) and junior guard Sean Donovan back from the CdM team that beat Renaissance Academy, 67-59, in last year’s final.

“This is where we were last year. Last year it was tough. I don’t think the road was as tough as it will be this year. I’m not sure if we’re a better team. Talent-wise, yes. Last year guys played their roles, understood their roles. There’s no pressure. No one is expecting us to win.”

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA is a staff writer. He may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or david.carrillo@latimes.com.