Goorjian shocked at PBA talent

MANILA, Philippines — Bay Area Dragons head coach Brian Goorjian said yesterday he was shocked at the display of talent, skills and versatility by the four teams in the recent PBA Philippine Cup semifinals, wondering why some of the top players aren’t on the national team. “Honestly, with two imports, those four semifinalists could compete against any team in Asia/Oceania,” he said. “I think it’s a challenge bringing in players for the national team because a lot of domestic leagues are ongoing when international competitions come up. It’s the same situation all over the world.”

Goorjian arrived here early last month with the Dragons who will play as a guest team in the coming PBA Commissioner’s Cup and use Manila as home base during the inaugural EASL season. The other day, Goorjian paid a courtesy call on PBA commissioner Willie Marcial at the league office in Eastwood and was given a briefing on PBA rules by deputy commissioner Eric Castro and technical consultant Joey Guanio.

“We’re not in the PBA to dominate and kick ass but we won’t be out there to be killed either,” said Goorjian, a six-time Australian NBL champion coach. “We just want to be competitive. It’s an honor to play in the PBA. With the Dragons, we’re opening the eyes of millions of fans to the PBA. I’ve been a coach over 30 years, including 12 in China and everywhere I go, I learn, pick up and add things along the way. In one of my many visits to Manila, I brought my Chinese team to play six tune-up games with PBA teams and when we got back to China, we started the season 13-0, scoring over 100 every game because of the fast pace we learned from the PBA.”

Goorjian, 69, led Australia to the bronze medal in men’s basketball at the Tokyo Olympics last year and will stay with the Boomers for the FIBA World Cup up to the Paris Games. “It was the first Olympic medal for any country in Asia/Oceania ever,” he said. “The exposure to the international game brings other countries closer to the goal of winning an Olympic medal. When Matt Beyer asked me to coach in EASL, I was comfortable living by the water in Australia but I thought this was an opportunity to grow the game regionally and I wanted to be a part of it. EASL will be the Euroleague of Asia with participation from more countries in the future, possibly including Australia and New Zealand.”