IF the Bay Area Dragons are not yet that good enough, they're just bound to get even better.
Coach Brian Goorjian said the team's loss to Barangay Ginebra in the PBA Commissioner's Cup finals that went the full route, was indeed a learning experience for this young Dragons side.
The guest team from Hong Kong never got in the groove the moment Ginebra jumped the gun on the top seeded Dragons, losing the deciding Game 7 of their title series, 114-99, before a roaring crowd of 54,589 at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.
The experience, according to Goorjian, was an eye opener for his young team.
"I think the team learned a lot," admitted the Bay Area mentor. "We have a younger group which has never experienced anything like this.
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"They learned a lot with this experience, and there's no doubt who the better team was."
Bay Area was only formed last August, with the end goal of molding a competitive team to see action in the East Asia Super League (EASL) home-and-away format.
The stint in the Commissioner's Cup was supposed to be part of the team's preparation for the EASL that was originally set to come off the wraps last October.
But with the regional league's opener pushed to an early March kickoff, the Dragons' focus was eventually concentrated on its campaign in the mid-season conference.
Bay Area breezed its way to the eliminations and emerged as the top seeded team heading to the playoffs.
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The Dragons easily disposed Rain or Shine in the quarterfinals, and then survived June Mar Fajardo and San Miguel Beer in the semifinals to arrange the title series against Barangay Ginebra.
Goorjian and the Dragons learned the hard way the Kings were a different breed of animals.
"They (Kings) were better in the areas that I thought was just the Filipino teams, those top teams. Ginebra, they're well coached, they play so physical and so strong, and I'm saying that in a very complimentary way," said the 69-year-old coach, who also handles the Australian men's basketball team.
Disappointed Goorjian may be in falling short of winning the championship, but he sees the experience of playing in such an atmosphere very beneficial to the Dragons.
"Our team got a ton better, these kids got a ton better," offered the most accomplished coach in the history of the Australian NBL. (RG)
