Kuala Lumpur, Monday: - If anyone thinks that the Dragons are fazed in any way for having to face the top-seeded basketball team in the ABL – in the playoffs, no less – they couldn’t be more wrong.

In fact, the playoff match-up is precisely what they were hoping for.

“The playoffs are where teams really show what they are made of. And there’s no better way to do that than having to play the best team in the league”, says Dragons’ Coach Goh Cheng Huat.

Though the Patriots are the favourites in this series, they certainly showed the Dragons a lot of respect in Game 1 at the Ynares stadium, with stifling man-to-man defense.

“They know what we’re capable of”, said Coach Goh. “They remember what happened the last time we played them at the MABA stadium.

In that game, the Dragons lost three key players – Chris Kuete, Koh Way Tek and Kwaan Yoong Jing – due to ejections after a scuffle broke out. Coach Goh is convinced that the Patriots are impressed by the way the Dragons did not allow the ejections to negatively affect their play. The locally-bred players stepped up in a big way, which led to an impressive 77 – 59 victory.

“It wasn’t right for our players to have done what they did, getting involved in that scuffle. But if anything, it showed that they have a lot of heart, and won’t back down from anyone”, offered Coach Goh.

Observations from Game 1 of this playoff match-up point to the fact that Chris Kuete, Jamal Brown and Rudy Lingannay being rather ineffective in their offensive production. But that’s sure to change, says Coach Goh.

“The Patriots will come back with hard-nosed defense once again, I’m sure of it. But my boys aren’t about to let that be an excuse for a bad showing in the second game. They always play better at home. Our game plan, practices and amazing fans will make sure of it.”

With the Patriots looking to put the Dragons away for good this year in a best-of-three playoff match-up, and the home team looking to deny them that pleasure, it certainly looks like we will all enjoy a tough and exciting battle on the hardwood come 3rd February at the MABA Stadium.

Fans of the KL Dragons can logon to: www.kldragons.com for team information, fixtures and results. Alternatively, to follow the team’s tour around ASEAN, visit the official KL Dragons Facebook fan page.