Three WPIAL basketball teams will travel to Penn State today and tomorrow for the PIAA basketball championships at the Bryce Jordan Center. But for them, the road to the championship really goes through Philadelphia.

The Greensburg Salem boys, the North Catholic boys and the Mt. Lebanon girls will all play teams from the Philadelphia's Catholic and public high school leagues. And all three WPIAL teams are considered underdogs.

This is the first season that Philadelphia Catholic League schools are in the PIAA, and only the fifth for Philadelphia Public League schools.

If the WPIAL does not win a championship, it will be only the second time the Western Pennsylvania league has had that empty feeling since the PIAA went to four classifications in the 1983-84 season. The other times were 1998 and '87.

The coaches from all three WPIAL teams in the finals acknowledge they should be underdogs. Consider what they face:

• In the Class AAAA girls' final tonight, Mt. Lebanon meets a Cardinal O'Hara team from the Catholic League that has all five starters headed to Division I colleges. That is practically unheard of in this state.

• In the Class AAA boys' final tonight, Greensburg Salem faces a strong Archbishop Carroll team from the Catholic League. Carroll already owns a quarterfinal victory against Neumann-Goretti, a powerful team that was ranked in the top 25 in the country in at least one poll.

• In the Class AA boys' championship tomorrow, North Catholic takes on an Imhotep Charter team that won the Public League and has two guards headed to Division I colleges. Four of Imhotep's starters are 6 feet 3 or taller, including 6-8 Erik Copes. North Catholic has one starter taller than 6-2.

"Personally, I think being the underdog is good," said Greensburg Salem junior guard Jake Matthews. "We don't have the pressure because the other team has a better reputation. They're the team with pressure and they have to win."

Greensburg Salem is used to this underdog role. The Lions lost in the WPIAL quarterfinals, and not many could've predicted they would knock off Chartiers Valley, Farrell and WPIAL champion Hampton on the way to the PIAA title game. Before this season, Greensburg Salem had won one PIAA game in school history.

"We thought we might not even make the state playoffs," said Greensburg Salem senior point guard Chris Klimchock. "Archbishop Carroll is a Philadelphia Catholic League team and we're only Greensburg Salem. But we've been playing the underdog role the whole playoffs. I like the role and I think we all do, but it's going to be a huge challenge in the state championship."

Carroll has a talented guard tandem in junior D.J. Irving (14.7 points per game) and sophomore Juan'ya Green (13.3 ppg), who were both first-team all-Catholic League selections.

"If we play good defense, we can be in pretty much every game," Klimchock said. "If we do that and knock down some shots, we think we can play with anyone."

North Catholic also faces some talented guards in Imhotep's Parrish Grant and Sam Prescott.

Grant, a 6-2 senior, was a starter on Prep Charter's PIAA championship team two years ago before transferring as a junior. He is being recruited by St. Peter's, Hartford, Long Island and Texas Southern.

Prescott, a 6-3 senior, is a Marist recruit. Imhotep's other starters don't score a lot, but they go 6-2, 6-4 and 6-8.

"We know what we're in store for -- more great athletes, more great shooters and people who can leap out of the gym," said North Catholic coach Dave Long. "But that ball has to touch the ground at certain times during the game, and I know the North boys are going to be diving for it, and that's all that matters."

North Catholic and Greensburg Salem are making their first championship appearances in school history.

The Mt. Lebanon girls lost in last year's title game. This season, Mt. Lebanon is undefeated and trying to become only the second girls' team from the WPIAL to win a PIAA title with a perfect record. The other was Mount Alvernia in 1983.

Mt. Lebanon faces an O'Hara team that features 6-3 senior Stephanie Holzer, a McDonald's All-American who averages 19.6 points a game. She has signed with Vanderbilt.

The other four O'Hara starters headed for Division I colleges are 5-6 point guard Danielle Callahan (LaSalle), 5-7 guard Alysha Womack (Monmouth), 5-10 forward Alicia Manning (Lafayette) and 5-11 guard Natasha Cloud (Maryland). All are seniors except Cloud, who is a junior.

"I would have to assume we're the underdogs," said Mt. Lebanon coach Dori Oldaker. "Just because of the talent they have and how well they play together."