GIVING up a steady island life to work in a foreign land away from your loved ones says a lot. And Brian Goorjian would do it again in a heartbeat.
With the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals against Barangay Ginebra just heating up, the Bay Area coach already can’t wait for more as he expects the Dragons to return to the PBA in future tournaments if given the chance.
Brian Goorjian on Dragons' potential PBA return
“I was very happy living on the beach in Australia with my family, playing in the NBL, coaching the national team,” Goorjian shared on SPIN POV on Tuesday. “And when they said, ‘You go and live in Manila, play in the PBA, and be a part of an Asian international competition which includes the Philippines, Taipei, Japan, Korea, I leaped at it.”
Hearing about the PBA and the Philippines’ passion for basketball from fellow coaches like Tab Baldwin and Mark Dickel, Goorjian was glad to find out the reality lived up to expectations.
“I have not been let down,” the American-Australian coach said. “And the selling point here is we’ve been good for your competition. Now, you’re in a final and it’s like an international final: like China against the Philippines.”
“I think we’ve brought a lot to the competition, a lot of differences, nuances that are helping your team. And I know June Mar made reference to that,” he added, referring to six-time MVP June Mar Fajardo’s statement about the entire PBA benefitting from the Dragons’ participation.
“And on the flip side, it’s been great for us,” he continued. “We’re an example; the Philippines and the Bay Area Dragons are an example to the world of they do it in Europe with their international competition: Russia against Spain. We want to do that here.”
Goorjian, the concurrent Australia men’s national coach, believes adding an international flavor to the local games will also benefit Gilas Pilipinas in its international preparations, especially for next year’s Fiba World Cup.
“This is going to be good for your Filipino players and it’s also going to help your national team, the Gilas, be playing in this kind of competition and these nuances that they can take to their professional league and to their international competition,” Goorjian said. “It’s the same for us. It’s the goal of the EASL and we’re bringing it right here to the PBA.”
Goorjian, though, is hoping the PBA cleans up on its rules in the future in the wake of the controversy on the concessions given to the Dragons by the Commissioner's Office as well as the Gin Kings’ physicality, especially on Dragons import Andrew Nicholson in Game One of the best-of-seven series on Christmas Day.
“I know our management is excited about that (comeback) prospect and I know all the people that are experiencing this are singing the praises of it. Again, the rules on how we put our teams, there’s some stuff that has taken place during the course of the year on, you know, it’s got to be tidied up a little bit as far as moving forward for everybody,” Goorjian said.
“But I think everybody’s working hard for this to continue and grow,” he was quick to add. “And I’d be very, very disappointed if…we didn’t look at it as a one-year experience and let’s move around. I hope we can build something strong long term and grow the PBA.”
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