THE benefit of adjustment now falls on the Bay Area Dragons after losing Game 1 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup finals against Barangay Ginebra on Christmas Day.
Coach Brian Goorjian pointed out rebounding and poor shooting led to the Dragons’ 96-81 loss at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The 69-year-old mentor said the team needs to address both concerns if Bay Area is to come back strong in Game 2 on Wednesday.
“It’s a series, and the ball comes over to our court. Everybody (saw) what happened tonight. They dominated us, they dominated us in the regular season (eliminations). So the adjustment comes to us. What are we gonna do,” said Goorjian afterwards.
The Dragons were beaten off the boards by the Kings, 58-35, as import Justin Brownlee, Christian Standhardinger, and Jamie Malonzo combined for 33 rebounds.
In contrast, only import Andrew Nicholson submitted double figures in rebounding for Bay Area with 12.
Bay Area struggled with its shots, too, converting just 38 percent from the floor (30-of-78), while Barangay Ginebra went a high 50 percent by making 38-of-76 shots.
“Things are going to regress, but talk (is) cheap. We got to get those things done,” said Goorjian. “They’re deep they’re athletic, and they’re long.
“The ball is on our court, so we’ve got to be better for the second game. We got pretty well manhandled tonight.” (PBA/RG)
Text and photos courtesy PBA
