The Dragons and the PBA

 
Author's note: Thank you for the continued support and exchanges on social media; while this blog has been inactive for some time, a lot of our friends here continue to show love and support. This blog has been an outlet of sorts, as we all need hobbies that pique our interest and passions. Unfortunately, with age (and a very relaxed/ poor diet), this writer can no longer play basketball at a very competitive rate, so here we are, typing away on a keyboard while showing love to those who play the game the right way.

Coach Brian Goorjian

and the Bay Area Dragons

(Photo: Philstar.com)

The recently concluded 2022 PBA Commissioner's Cup offered quite a bold and innovative feature, this time presenting local fans with a guest team: the Bay Area Dragons. Formed in 2021 to represent 'Greater China,' the team was coached by American/ Australian tactician Brian Goorjian who is known for leading the Australian national team to a bronze medal finish in the 2020 Olympics. It featured a bevy of up-and-coming stars from East Asian countries complemented by American reinforcements, NBAers Myles Powell and Andrew Nicholson.

Fans were quickly treated to a new style of basketball: less one on one and more of the quick outlet and reversal passes, ball screens, and motion offense. The game was played on a faster pace, the scores were ramped up, and PBA teams that were ill-equipped or ill-prepared would be on the receiving end of a 20-point spanking, at the very least.

True to form, backed with Goorjian's high octane offense and formidable NBA talent in Powell and Nicholson (which alternated for each other during the conference), the Dragons would make quick work of the opposition and set up a 'dream match' opposite crowd favorites Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in a seven-game championship series.

Unfortunately, the Dragons failed to win it all as Ginebra would prove to be just as capable to match their stellar, world-class play. Opposite Goorjian is Tim Cone, arguably the Philippines' best head coach (we just added in 'arguably' out of respect for the rest, but Cone's 25 championship rings would probably dismiss any or all counter arguments to that claim). Ginebra played a physical, mid-range to the low-post game, which the Dragons couldn't match as though they were the taller, longer, team, their guys weren't used to mixing it up in the paint and all the semantic skirmishes expected of the Filipino brand of play.

So where do we go from here?

Well, hopefully, the PBA's level of play will only continue to rise to that of the Dragons' and even Ginebra's. We are seeing it in the current Governor's Cup, where ball movement and a quicker pace is starting to be favored by most teams. It's always fun to watch one-on-one superstars doing their thing on the hardcourt, but the game is just more fluid and captivating to watch when everyone is a threat on the floor-- something that most Filipino basketball fans are rather unfamiliar with still.

Maybe next time, teams would be allowed to field in 2 imports, a big one and a small one, to match guest teams like the Dragons. If the Dragons are free, and given that the Philippines is starting to open up to East Asia, then there's no reason not to have them back. As long as the games are competitive. There's simply no point in having guest teams over that are not a threat to our local powerhouse teams.

This also shows the non-believers of the PBA, that homegrown Filipino talent, the PBA teams, can play up to par-- that we have the tools, and that it's just a matter of consciously playing at a higher level.