Pioneer Athletic Conference basketball playoff fields, schedules are set

Perkiomen Valley and Spring-Ford flipped hosting duties this season for the Pioneer Athletic Conference basketball tournament.

This year, Perkiomen Valley will stage the boys’ Final Six playoffs while Spring-Ford returns as host of the girls’ field.

The location switch avoided a scenario that you would find opposing teams and fans bemoaning in the past: No. 1 tournament seeds also having home-court advantage.

The Spring-Ford boys (9-1 division, 12-1 PAC, 17-5 overall) and Perkiomen Valley girls won’t chase repeat championships at home, but will enjoy No. 1 seeds and a bye into the semifinals. The Frontier Division champion Phoenixville boys (9-1, 10-3, 16-6) and girls teams also have earned direct entry into the semifinals as No. 2 seeds.

The boys’ tournament commences Wednesday, Feb. 8 at Perkiomen Valley. In the first round, it’s an all-Liberty matchup between No. 4 Methacton (8-2, 10-3) and No. 5 Perkiomen Valley (7-3, 10-3) at 6 p.m. The second game of the doubleheader will be No. 3 Pottstown (8-2, 10-3) against No. 6 Norristown (4-6, 7-6).

While both went 10-3 in the conference, Pottstown earned the No. 3 seed over Methacton via head-to-head matchup (72-68 on Jan. 10).
The semifinals are set for Friday, Feb. 9 back at Perk Valley.

The championship will be played on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m.

In last year’s final, Spring-Ford bested Upper Merion 74-55 on Feb. 14.

The girls’ playoffs begin Thursday, Feb. 9 at Spring-Ford. In the opening round, No. 6 Norristown visits No. 3 Spring-Ford (8-2, 11-2, 18-4) in the 6 p.m. contest, followed by the 7:45 p.m. game between No. 4 Pope John Paul II (7-3, 8-5, 11-9) and No. 5 Upper Merion (7-3, 8-5, 12-7).

Norristown is making its first appearance in the PAC playoffs in a season where the Eagles won a Liberty Division game for the first time. In fact, Norristown (4-6, 7-6, 9-10) won four division games and seven overall PAC games to qualify for the postseason.

Pope John Paul II edged Upper Merion in seedings via a tiebreaker that came down to District 1 power points.

The girls’ semifinals will be held Saturday, Feb. 10 and the final will be played on Wednesday, Feb. 14, at 7 p.m. The No. 1 seed Vikings are defending champions after dispatching Spring-Ford in the 2023 final, 51-26.