Myles Powell (left) passes Kevin Alas. He continued to burn the Road Warriors net with 38 points. — PBA . IMAGES
His sweat barely dried after another stirring performance for the Bay Area on Sunday helped his team take a shot at the top two, Myles Powell couldn’t hide his eagerness. It was for the Dragons’ next game, against the top team of the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioners team.
“I’m so excited,” Powell said after the Dragons beat the NLEX Road Warriors, 118-98, to get their eighth win in 10 opening games on Sunday for a solid quarter-final spot at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. , a perfect confidence for themselves and the Bay Area as they prepare for a major clash with Magnolia.
The visitors from Hong Kong will face the Hotshots on Saturday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City in a showdown that coach Brian Goorjian sees as a yardstick if they are qualified to compete for the grand prize.
Magnolia finished last week 7-1, but there will be a quick game on Wednesday against San Miguel Beer. On the other hand, the Bay Area will have a lavish prep week.
Despite that, Goorjian was impressed with Magnolia’s play under coach Chito Victolero. The Australian national team’s mentor may not know Victolero personally, but he knows how good the Hotshots tactician is.
“I don’t know him,” Goorjian admitted. “But I am very impressed with what he has done with his team. And we’re going to have to be really good at basketball to win. “
Chase the bounty in the playoff
The Dragons carried out their intentions in hopes of securing a two-man finish to ensure they had a two-beat advantage. Goorjian feels his team continues to make some progress.
“I think we are improving,” he said. “The team is getting better and it (the match against Magnolia) will give us a good indication of our situation going into the knockout stages, what we need to do and what we are good at, our position because we’re playing the best.”
Powell, who went on to explode 50 points against Rain or Shine with 36 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals, was on the sidelines when the Bay Area faced Barangay Ginebra and San Miguel Beer last month.
Andrew Nicholson wore the uniform for two games under the arrangement, which saw Powell play the first four and the former will compete in the next four.
“I missed the first two big games against San Miguel and Ginebra, so to get a chance at one of the highly rated teams here is very exciting,” said Powell.
“It was Saturday night and I was impressed with the fans here and I knew it was going to be a good crowd. We have a week to prepare and we will be ready. “
Glen Yang produced 15 points with 5 rebounds and 5 assists and stupid Hayden Blankley scored 13 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists to prove that the Dragons were more than just a Powell solo.
NLEX continues to free-fall on the leaderboard with its most recent loss. The Road Warriors have dropped to fourth in a row and are currently in 11th place with a score of 3-6.
After winning the first two games under interim coach Adonis Tierra, NLEX dropped to 1-6 after Frankie Lim officially took charge. INQ
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