Bay Area will play in an environment it has never been in before, but Goorjian is relishing chance to win a PBA title in front of more than 50,000 fans

The atmosphere expected for Game 7 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Philippine Arena will be one that the Bay Area will experience for the first time.

But the Dragons know what they have to do here – and while it may be a loss, the visitors from Hong Kong will welcome the challenge, given the opportunity.

Coach Brian Goorjian, in fact, is relishing the opportunity to play in front of at least 50,000 fans — the majority of whom will be hoping, of course, to see Barangay Ginebra slay the Dragons in the title decider in Bocaue, Bulacan, on Sunday.

“We’re playing with the bank’s money,” Goorjian said. “And [at Philippine Arena]50,000 [fans] or whatever, I hope every seat in the place is sold out, and it’s something you won’t forget.

“[It’s going to be] Another special basketball game like that [in Game 6]and let the cards fall where they may,” added Goorjian, who will get practice on how to play in the cavernous arena before taking on Australia for the International Basketball Federation (Fiba) World Cup later this year.

Game 6 was witnessed by more than 22,000 souls Wednesday night, when the Dragons carved out an 87-84 victory in the middle of all the jeers.

Lift from the crowd

It will get louder—and maybe even louder—in Game 7.

Many Ginebra have shown for some part of the series that they can intimidate the Dragons. And more than fighting the Gin Kings for 48 minutes, they have to face a crowd that loves Ginebra.

In fact, Ginebra coach Tim Cone praised his team’s legions of supporters in Game 3, where the Kings erased a seven-point deficit in the final four minutes to win 89-82 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

“The Bay Area [experienced] the first one and they did a good job,” Cone said after the win. “I’ve been through a lot of games against Ginebra [when I was coaching Alaska and San Mig before]and every time, it’s all about trying to get the crowd out of their minds, trying to keep the referees out of their minds, trying to just focus on what they have to do.

“And it’s really hard.”

The Bay Area has shown it can also cut through distractions, like in Game 6 when fans’ hopes of seeing a championship celebration at Smart Araneta Coliseum were dashed when Myles Powell made his first appearance of the series and won.

Those fans know that sick games or not, Powell doesn’t get any love from them.

Doubly loud

Showing the poise of a seasoned player, Powell came back from a leg injury to score 29 points off the bench. Fans booed when he entered the contest for the first time, and the same people remained in shock every time the former NBA player scored a basket.

And now the Dragons have another chance to overcome that set-up, which will be twice as many as they felt in the first six games of the championship series.

“Honestly, I love this,” Goorjian said. “Coming in here and being in an environment whether it’s fun for you or not, we’ve always said, we play basketball for fun.

“Many people in the bubble and the hub now, playing in front of 1,500 people. We are in a country that loves basketball and crowded stadiums. We got 50,000 people waiting for us? That’s why we’re here. That’s why we breathe.”

As for Cone, he wants to see if it’s Ginebra on the winning end of the stick – asking for six-man help from the Ginebra faithful.

“I hope everyone will come. It’s going to be great,” Cone said.

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