Goorjian back for World Cup

Now that the EASL Champions Week is over, Bay Area Dragons coach Brian Goorjian will focus on his next task. And that’s to pilot Australia to a podium finish at the FIBA World Cup this year. Goorjian is looking forward to returning to Manila although it won’t be until the draw on April 29 when the 32 teams find out where they’ll play in the group stage. There will be 16 teams playing in two elimination rounds in Manila, eight in Jakarta and eight in Okinawa. If Australia makes it to the quarterfinals, Goorjian will be back in Manila where the Dragons stayed for five months preparing for and playing in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup last year.

Goorjian, who turns 70 in July, has coached Australia in three Olympics in 2004 finishing ninth, 2008 placing seventh and 2021 winding up third. The Boomers’ bronze medal was the highest finish for an Asia/Pacific team in Olympic men’s basketball history. The challenge for Goorjian is to claim a medal for Australia in his first World Cup appearance. Australia is ranked No. 3 in the FIBA world standings behind No. 1 Spain and No. 2 USA. This will be the Boomers’ 13th World Cup and the Boomers are coming off their loftiest ending – fourth – in 2019.

Goorjian said he’s excited to coach Bay Area in the inaugural EASL home-and-away season starting Oct. 11 but at the moment, his concentration is on the Boomers, nothing else. He’ll start thinking about Bay Area again after the World Cup. Goorjian said he’s received the commitment of Australia’s NBA players to suit up in the World Cup. The list includes Patty Mills, Joe Ingles, Josh Green, Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels. Controversial star Ben Simmons isn’t sure to be invited.

Goorjian recently led the Dragons to third place in the EASL Champions Week in Japan. That was Bay Area’s second tournament. The first was in the Commissioner’s Cup where the Dragons finished second behind Barangay Ginebra. Goorjian said he’s hoping for another crack at a PBA title. Although nothing is set in stone, the plan is for Goorjian to regroup the Dragons in Manila in September to prepare for the coming EASL season. Bay Area, however, won’t be able to play in the PBA, if ever, until next year because the season-opening conference is the Philippine Cup. The PBA will play only two conferences next season and it’s still not certain if the second will be the Commissioner’s or Governors Cup. The difference is the import height limit for each conference.

“We learned a lot from playing in the PBA and we’ll be better,” said Goorjian. “We’ve tweaked our lineup and brought in Sedrick (Barefield). I’d never coached before a crowd of more than 20,000 so the experience in the Philippine Arena was amazing. I told my friends in Game 7, it wasn’t 20,000 fans but more than 54,000. The exposure was phenomenal and Bay Area as a brand is now known all over the world.”