There were some things the veteran coach wants to shed light on.
No, Bay Area head coach Brian Goorjian was not pissed with the officiating in Game 3.
This was something the veteran tactician clarified in the aftermath of the Dragons’ 94-86 win over Ginebra in Game 4 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals on Friday.
Goorjian said he was so pissed after losing the pivotal Game 3 that he refused to speak with the media and team. Instead he went straight to his lair to figure out what to do in Game 4 in the absence of injured import Andrew Nicholson.
“I can’t remember being more angry than I was after the last game. So I kept my mouth shut to the media, to my team, collected my thoughts, and went to the bunker knowing we wouldn’t have Nicholson tonight,” he said.
Two Dragons in Myles Powell (P100,000) and Hayden Blankley (P75,000), meanwhile, were consequently fined after ranting on social media about the officiating after the 82-89 loss to the Gin Kings.
Powell pointed out the foul count (12-28) and free throw disparity (10-38) in a series of tweets, while Blankley expressed displeasure by saying the game was “cooked” in a now-deleted Instagram story.
It seems the concurrent Australia national team coach didn’t share the same sentiment.
“I coach on the sidelines, I’ll do anything — as coach (Tim) Cone will do - to win. I will do anything and everything I possibly can to protect my team. When the game is over, I look at the man I competed against and I shake his hand,” said Goorjian.
“And nothing to do with the referees, nothing to do with the fans, we’re pissed after the last game, we let that slip. And we’re playing a great team that’s well coached.”
Without Nicholson, the Dragons had little success in the early going, even trailing by 12 points. But Kobey Lam kept them above the water with booming triples on his way to 30 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists.
He was not alone, though. Zhu Songwei and Glen Yang finished with 18 points each to make up for the void left by the Canadian Nicholson.
And for that, Goorjian was mighty proud.
“I’m proud of my young team playing in a game like this and competing and getting the win. I’m really proud,” he said.