Bay Area coach Brian Goorjian was glad to finally get the monkey off his back as his side got one against Ginebra, in the process tying their PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals series at one game apiece on Wednesday night.
The Dragons finally beat the Barangay after two failed tries following a 99-82 Game Two win and the veteran mentor said that it would surely help boost his side’s confidence as the best-of-seven series moves forward.
“It definitely helps. I mean, the losses mount up, and you’re pretty much, ‘Can we beat this team?’ So yes, it did help,” he said after the win that sent home over 16,000 pro-Kings fans disappointed at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Ginebra is someone that the guest team will never forget, for the crowd darlings were the very first to deal them their first loss not just in the PBA but since coming over to local shores around August — a month before the conference.
For starters, it was a 111-93 beatdown last October 3 at the Philsports Arena, which also happened to be Andrew Nicholson’s first game as he alternated the import position with fellow former NBA cager Myles Powell.
Over two months later and Bay Area fell again to the Kings, a 96-81 result in the Finals’ Game One witnessed by 18,000-plus fans at the MoA Arena.
Simply put, they didn’t want it to be third in a row, and that was evident on Wednesday night as Nicholson, Zhu Songwei, and the rest of the crew each played with a chip on their shoulder, leading to the dominant win.
As happy as he is, Goorjian understands that it’s a series, and there remains plenty to work on, and many more to expect as it unfolds.
For him, he just wants his wards to soak in the moment and enjoy as much as they can, for championship battles don’t come by often.
“But, it’s a series, and I’m just happy. This thing’s sensational, and I wanna experience as much of it as I can,” he said. “Again, I played in a lot of Finals over the course of my life, this environment is second to none.
“That stadium, to the roof, is packed, and I’ve never been in one where there’s no one for you. It’s just all, everything’s them. That motivation is fun, too. It’s like coming in here in the military. It’s us against the world. Helmet’s on, let’s go.
“And I thought our guys bit into that, and I told them, grand finals don’t come often. Enjoy the experience, get off on this environment and playing under this pressure. It’s gotta be something you enjoy,” he added.
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
