At this point of the basketball season, there are feel-good stories all around. None is better Bay Area-wide than Oakland Athletic League female rivals Oakland and Oakland Tech, each one win from a spot in a state final at Golden 1 Arena in Sacramento.

The second-seeded Wildcats from Oakland (28-5), winners of 17 straight, host the longest shot in the state, 16th-seeded Union Mine-El Dorado (23-8), in a Division 3 Northern California championship. In the Division 4 finals, the No. 4 Bulldogs of Oakland Tech (28-6) travel to second-seeded Menlo-Atherton (19-11).

The once-proud OAL, one of the most storied leagues in the Bay Area, needed a $250,000 donation from the Raiders in August to keep 10 of its sports from being disbanded.

On top of that, a weeklong teachers strike in the Oakland Unified School District ended late Sunday night, sending players back to school Monday.

The success on the court has proved a huge rallying point.

NorCal finals All games are at 7 p.m. Tuesday. BOYS Open Division: No. 4 Modesto Christian (27-7) vs. No. 2 Sheldon-Sacramento (23-10) at Consumnes River College Division 1: No. 2 Branson-Ross (31-2) at No. 1 James Logan-Union City (26-6) Division 2: No. 9 Serra (20-9) at No. 2 Campolindo-Moraga (25-7) Division 3: No. 8 Monterey (25-4) vs. No. 3 University (27-9) at Kezar Pavilion Division 4: No. 6 Wood-Vacaville (26-7) at No. 5 Immanuel-Reedley (25-8) Division 5: No. 2 Dinuba (27-8) at No. 1 Mt. Shasta (32-1) Division 6: No. 2 Redding Christian (33-0) at No. 1 Cornerstone Christian-Antioch (33-2) GIRLS Open Division: No. 4 Salesian-Richmond (25-8) vs. No. 3 Pinewood-Los Altos Hills at Gunn-Palo Alto (26-3) Division 1: No. 6 Bear Creek-Stockton (30-5) at No. 4 Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland (23-9) Division 2: No. 3 Enterprise-Redding (28-5) at No. 1 Menlo School (24-5) Division 3: No. 16 Union Mine-El Dorado (23-8) at No. 2 Oakland (28-5) Division 4: No. 4 Oakland Tech (28-6) at No. 2 Menlo-Atherton (19-11) Division 5: No. 3 Caruthers (30-4) at No. 1 St. Bernard’s-Eureka (26-6) Division 6: No. 5 Forest Lake Christian (24-6) at No. 2 Etna (24-6)

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“Our games have been packed the last week, teachers included,” Oakland coach Orlando Gray said.

Said Oakland Tech coach Leroy Hurt: “Both teams reaching this point is a huge deal to the community, the schools, the league. We’ve hit some real low points lately. This has been a chance for local people to stand up and cheer.”

Gray and Hurt have been around long enough to recall when the OAL put out formidable teams regularly. Gray watched his daughter Alexis Gray-Lawson, along with Devanei Hampton, lead Tech to back-to-back state Division 1 titles in 2004 and 2005. Gray was an assistant on the team.

“Those were some great years, and the league was well respected,” Gray said. “We don’t have that respect anymore."

Gray, in his seventh season at Oakland, has had the Wildcats fast-breaking the right way. This is his program’s third 20-win season in five years, but he boasts more about the team's impressive academic numbers, including all but one of his 12 players sporting at least a 3.20 grade-point average.

“We’ve had girls go on to Stanford, Georgia Tech, Xavier and Harvard,” he said. “All of them graduate from college.”

His guard-dominated team is led by 5-foot-7 center Mae Alexander, who averaged close to 14 rebounds per game and was named OAL MVP. The scoring comes largely off the press, led by sophomore Kya Pearson (12 ppg), Morgan Dunbar (10 ppg), Khirah McCoy and Mariyanna Trahan. None is taller than 5-7.

“From start to finish, they just press in waves,” Hurt said. “They pressure teams into submission.”

That’s what they did Saturday against defending NorCal D4 champion Woodside Priory-Portola Valley, which took a 45-31 lead going into the fourth quarter of the NorCal semifinal. “The girls took it upon themselves to get after it,” Gray said.

The Wildcats went on a 25-9 run to win 56-54. “A lot of seniors didn’t want their season to end,” Gray said.

Hurt knows all about Oakland’s will and want. The Bulldogs lost three straight to Oakland this season, the last two 52-51 and 45-43, after losing 69-57 on Jan. 23. He coached many of the Wildcats during the AAU season.

“They beat us by 12 the first time but we’ve steadily got better,” he said.

In Hurt’s fourth season, the Bulldogs have steadily improved since a 10-14 first season. They’re led by Tiffany Sui, a 5-8 senior who had 23 points in a 62-47 win at top-seeded Silver Creek-San Jose on Saturday. She’s getting Big West Conference looks, Hurt said.

Stephanie Okowi, a 6-foot junior, and 5-11 sophomore Rakyha Reid are two of six players between 5-10 and 6-foot on the roster. Both have college potential, Hurt said.

Hurt said he’s a little surprised that his team has reached this point, but recognizes being placed in the D4 division in CIF’s new competitive-equity model has helped it advance.

“I don’t think we’re a Division 4 team and I don’t think Oakland is a Division 3 team,” Hurt said. “I think we’re better than that. But we can only play against the competition in front of us. In the future, as our reputation improves, we’ll get moved up. For now, we’re looking at this as nothing but a great opportunity.”

MaxPreps senior writer Mitch Stephens covers high school sports for The San Francisco Chronicle.