Here’s where Berks teams open PIAA Tournament play

By Mike Drago Last updated Mar 9, 2022

District 3 boys basketball champs Reading High and Berks Catholic will each open the PIAA Tournament on their home court, as will the Berks Catholic girls, the district runner-up in Class 4A.

Five Berks boys teams have qualified for the state tournament: Reading High in Class 6A, Exeter in 5A, Berks Catholic in 4A, Tulpehocken in 3A and Antietam in 2A.

Three Berks girls teams have qualified: Twin Valley in Class 5A, Berks Catholic and Brandywine Heights in 3A.

First-round games are Tuesday and Wednesday among the six classifications.

The PIAA has altered its tournament schedule this year to ease travel concerns during championship week. In past years the state tournament did not tip off until the weekend after district championships were concluded; now it is starting at mid-week, with second-round games this weekend, March 11-12.

Quarterfinals will be played March 15-16 and semifinals March 18-19.

The championships will be March 24, 25 and 26, all at Giant Center in Hershey.

Extra time has been slotted between the semifinal and final rounds.

Also, the PIAA is awarding opening-round home games. That policy was introduced with fall sports in 2020 following the COVID-19 breakout.

Here’s a breakdown:

Boys

Reading High (25-3), the defending PIAA champion, opens Wednesday at 7 at the Geigle against Downingtown West (16-9), the 12th-place finisher in District 1.
Exeter (13-14) opens Tuesday at 7 at Chester (18-3), the District 1 champ in Class 5A.
Berks Catholic (23-4) opens Tuesday at 7 at Wolf Gymnasium against Archbishop Carroll (12-10), the No. 5 seed out of District 12.
Tulpehocken (19-6), which finished third in Class 3A , opens Wednesday on the road against Philadelphia West Catholic (19-5), the District 12 runner-up. The game will be played at Bonner Prendergast High School in Drexel Hill, at 7:30.
Antietam (20-5), the runner-up in Class 2A, opens Wednesday at 7 against Holy Cross (19-6), the District 2 champion. The game will be played at Lackawanna College.

Here are links to the PIAA brackets:

Girls

Twin Valley (16-10), the sixth-place finisher in Class 5A, plays Wednesday at 7 at Abington Heights (19-6), the District 2 champ.
Berks Catholic (21-6), the Class 4A runner-up, opens Wednesday at 7 at Wolf Gymnasium against Lake Lehman (18-4), the third-place finisher in District 2.
Brandywine Heights (18-7), which finished third in Class 3A, will open on the road Tuesday against Neumann Goretti (12-9), the District 12 champ. The game will be played at Cardinal O’Hara High School in Springfield, starting at 6.