THE comparison with the Bay Area Dragons is inevitable, but Eastern team coach Mensur Bairamovic stressed the Hong Kong-based ballclub's desire to make its own niche in the PBA.
"We are happy to join the PBA. But I saw some comments like we are 'Bay Area 2.0. We are not actually," said Bairamovic, 59.
"We are really a pure Hong Kong team with some additional power. For us, it means a lot. We have to adjust. This is our first experience for me and for the other players."
That the Eastern is being linked with the Dragons was understandable.
Also a former Hong Kong-based team representing Greater China in the East Asia Super League (EASL), Bay Area created a stir when it saw action in the 2022-23 Commissioner's Cup as a guest team and reached the finals against Barangay Ginebra.
Sponsored content: The Dragons extended the Kings to the limit before losing the deciding Game 7 (114-99) before a record crowd of 54,589 at the Philippine Arena.
With Olympian coach Brian Goorjian at the helm, Bay Area introduced some notable players who became part of the Filipino basketball fans' consciousness, among them include imports Myles Powell and Andrew Nicholson, Hayden Blankley, Kobey Lam, Glenn Yang, Zhu Songwei, and the towering Liu Chuanxing.
Ironically, three of them in Blankley, Lam, and Yang are also in the roster of Eastern, so much so that the comparison with the Dragons has been mentioned time and again.
But Blankley disagrees.
"It's a very different team. As you guys know, the Bay Area team was blessed with some Mainland Chinese players that were all probably six and above, and some seven-footers. This team, not so much," he said.
Sponsored content: The Eastern began to carve out its own name right on its debut in the Commissioner's Cup Wednesday night, scoring a 102-87 win over Phoenix at the Philsports Arena.
Bairamovic expects Eastern to become even competitive as the conference evolves.
"I hope we will be better each game," said the Bosnian coach whose team plays Converge FiberXers on Friday. (RG)
