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Grantley Bernard

December 13, 2007 12:00am

BRIAN Goorjian recently joked that the NBL All-Star Game is the only game he never gets nervous about.

That doesn't mean he doesn't want to win. So you just know that when the game -- any game -- gets to the fourth quarter and it's close, he'll be driving his team like a hire car: his foot will be flat to the floor and he'll be giving it everything.

Even in an All-Star Game such as last night's at The Cage, Goorjian's competitive juices usually win out as the Australian team no doubt suspected going into the exhibition that is more to do with threes and dunks than discipline and defence.

Down on the other bench, World coach Al Westover was not banking on needing anything to reduce the stress because there wasn't any. Not unless his trademark cowboy boots were giving him blisters.

"I think it will be boots up on the couch," Westover said before the game. "Just let 'em play and rotate the bench and make sure everyone gets their minutes. We want it to be a fun night, so we'll just give 'em the ball and let 'em go."

That is the perfect game plan for an NBL All-Star Game. Roll the balls out, give the players the green light for 48 minutes and forget the defence. Which might be the biggest adjustment Goorjian ever had to make, given every team he ever coached has had defence drummed into it.

Except in All-Star Games, where the average scoreline in 14 editions going into last night was 142.3 to 129.6. That's enough to give Goorjian a nervous tick. So imagine what he would have been like when the South Stars beat the North Stars 168-154 in 1991.

At least Goorjian had the benefit of Chris Anstey last night. The Melbourne Tigers centre has a competitive streak to match Goorjian and was well aware the win-loss record in his past two NBL All-Star Games was 1-1 and he was coming off a defeat.

Goorjian also had the benefit of big-bodied Nathan Jawai, who threw down an array of dunks as he showed why he is the future of Australian basketball and maybe a better prospect than Andrew Bogut, who is already in the NBA.

Having gone from the AIS to the Cairns Taipans, Jawai is on track to be a unanimous pick as NBL Rookie of the Year and certainly made an impression as All-Star Game MVP with 24 points and 12 rebounds as the Aussies won 146-141.

It was Jawai's first All-Star Game and Anstey's third, but Anstey (eight points, 10 rebounds) relished being on the floor with blokes who are normally foes, appreciating their games up close rather than trying to close them down.

"You know you can just go out and play and do what you do," Anstey said. "If it comes off, fantastic. If not, the consequences aren't as significant."

Except when the game's in the fourth quarter and it's close and pride is on the line. Just as it was last night when the World made a run that came up just short against the shooting of Stephen Black (27 points, seven threes).

"Everyone wants to win," Anstey said. "Any time you get 10 or 20 athletes together in a game, they want to win. Absolutely."

So Goorjian and Westover might not have been nervous early in the game. However you knew, just like the players out on the floor, the bottom line was they really wanted to win.