Far from 100 percent, Myles Powell comes through for Bay Area in Game 6 win

Myles Powell. PBA PICTURES

MANILA, Philippines — Bay Area coach Brian Goorjian praised Myles Powell for coming up with a big performance that helped the Dragons force Game 7 in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup with an 87-84 win on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Powell came off the bench to score 29 points in an 87-84 victory despite being sidelined since November with a foot injury suffered before the playoffs, prompting the league’s visiting 6-foot-10 Andrew Nicholson.

Goorjian insisted after the previous pronouncements of Powell that it was over for the series, but he said it was the explosive guard who insisted that he could help give the Bay Area a chance to resist Ginebra’s first crack at the crown.

“I’ve been honest about everything [that] Myles was done,” Goorjian said. “He wasn’t ready, he didn’t have anything under his feet [and] people who have conditions and we thought that the closest return was Nick.

“Then, it got worse after Game 6, [Nicholson’s] will not be able to play in either game. So I got this tap, saying, ‘I’m ready,’ from the fitness guy telling me, the doctor telling me and Myles saying, ‘Man, I want to play.’

There was no doubt in Goorjian’s mind that he wanted Powell out, but he also expressed reservations because Powell, according to him, was still far from 100 percent.

But the presence of Powell is what the Bay Area needed to get the job done at night when Ginebra fans-at least 22,000 who filled the Big Dome-prepare for another championship party.

“I didn’t know if we were going to win, I didn’t know if they were going to make the plays that they made, but I knew that something special was going to come out on that floor,” the Dragons mentor said.

“If he wasn’t there, if that spirit wasn’t there, we couldn’t have shot tonight. It’s prepared for failure, and it’s different than what we’ve had in the whole series.

RELATED STORY

Read Next

Don’t miss the latest news and information.

For suggestions, complaints, or questions, please contact us.