Aussie coach: RP 5 can go long way

Sydney Kings coach Brian Goorjian is convinced if the best cagers from the national pool got together to play the three-time Australian club champions in the opener of their two-game series, the visitors would’ve lost.

Goorjian, a five-time National Basketball League (NBL) Coach of the Year awardee and the Australian national coach, paid tribute to the Filipino stars before leaving for home via Singapore yesterday.

The Kings played half of coach Chot Reyes’ "seeded" national pool in hacking out a 63-59 win at the Araneta Coliseum last Monday and the other half in scoring a 104-91 decision at the PhilSports Arena last Tuesday.

Reyes used a defensive unit in Game 1 and succeeded in limiting Sydney to 34 percent shooting from the floor. The downside was the Philippines, carrying the colors of San Mig Coffee, shot worse at 28 percent. The Kings also compiled more rebounds, 48-40, more assists, 18-14, more turnover points, 13-5, and more fastbreak points, 11-3.

Sydney came back from an 11-point deficit in the first period to frustrate the hosts with a stifling, in-your-face, full-court defense.

In Game 2, Reyes unleashed an offensive crew that was handicapped by the absence of an injured Rafi Reavis and a natural point guard. The Kings, scoring heavily in transition, raced to a 27-point lead in the third period but the Philippines stormed back to trim the gap to eight before losing by 13.

"Teams don’t usually do that to us," said Goorjian, talking with Reyes. "Once we’re up by 20 or more, that’s it. But you had a great run, something we do to other teams and other teams don’t do to us."

Goorjian said he saw something special in the Philippine team, something that makes it stand out from the other Asian teams he observed in a trip to Singapore last weekend.

The speculation was a combination of Reyes’ stoppers in Game 1 and gunners in Game 2 would’ve posed a more serious challenge to the visitors.

In Singapore, the Kings whipped the Beijing Ducks, 87-59, and beat Jordan, 92-84. Jordan was reinforced by American import Scott Thurman. Other teams that Goorjian saw in Singapore were the TG Xers of South Korea and the host national squad.

Goorjian told The Star he was impressed by the Filipinos’ style of play.

"I like the way they move," said Goorjian. "They cut, screen and pass well. The problem is lack of size. That’s something you can’t work on in practice. In the first game, they shot poorly. They had open looks and if the shots fell in, we would’ve been in deep trouble."

Goorjian said officiating wasn’t a damper although he picked up a technical in Game 2 for protesting a foul call against guard C. J. Bruton.

"In the first quarter of the first game, I thought the officiating was too tight," he continued. "Neither team could get any momentum because the play kept on getting stopped. I don’t think the officiating was patriotic. I just thought the officials called it too tight but we learned to adjust along the way."

Goorjian said he mixed and matched defensive tactics depending on the players on the floor.

"I used the zone when I had my nucleus that was used to my defensive system and I went man-to-man when I had relatively new guys on the court," he said. "There was no conscious plan to play big or small. When I had small guys like C. J., B. J. (Carter) and Luke (Martin) playing together, it was because they gave me the energy we needed to play hard. I benched the guys who were just walking up and down the floor."

Kings veteran Ben Knight, who celebrated his 29th birthday here last Monday, said the team played only 50 percent of its potential in Game 1.

"We partied the night before after winning the championship in Singapore then we flew all day to Manila and played the game a few hours after landing," said Knight. "We didn’t have our legs. We were tired. It showed in our shooting percentage. We didn’t run transition."

Knight promised the Kings would unravel its full arsenal in Game 2. He kept his promise. In Game 1, the Kings shot only 4-of-25 treys with Bruton, Carter, David Barlow and Knight blanking in 13 combined tries. In Game 2, Sydney hit 13-of-28 triples as Brad Sheridan buried 7-of-9 and Bruton, 4-of-11. The Kings displayed their crisp passing in racking up 23 assists, compared to the Philippines’ 14, and had more steals, 8-4, more fastbreak points, 16-10 and more transition points, 26-18.

Reyes said Game 2 would’ve been closer if only the Philippines shot more consistently from the line. The Philippines Team B, sponsored by Purefoods Supremo Cane Vinegar, missed 17 free throws.

Goorjian, whose father Ed was Ron Jacobs’ assistant at Loyola Marymount University in 1979-80, said he’d like to bring the Kings to Manila every year to play the national team.

Reyes welcomed the offer, calling the Kings "the prototype of the international game" where "the big men step out to shoot from the perimeter, they pressure the ball and drive and kick." He said playing the Kings was "a learning experience" and the national team will be a lot better for it.