LEARNING from a mistake and bouncing from
it real quick is a true measure of a player’s character.
None displayed this trait better last week
than Air21’s Gary David, earning him the scribes’ nod as the
PBA Press Corps’ Accel-Talk N Text Player of the Week for
March 12-18.
His numbers alone—21.5 points on 17-of-33
field shooting, 1.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in the
import-flavored Fiesta Cup—are impressive enough. But he had
more to offer.
"The energy he keeps on bringing to the
team is very remarkable," said Air21 coach Bo Perasol of
David, a guard who had a direct hand in the team’s two wins
last week.
"There are when his offense is cold but he
compensates for that with great defense," added Perasol.
David’s willingness to be Air21’s go-to guy
among the locals was stressed to the fore when the Express
battled the TNT Phone Pals last Sunday.
David made a crucial mistake when he sued
for time after failing to find an open man in an inbounds play
in the last 14.2 seconds. The Express, however, had already
used up all their timeouts by that time.
The result was a technical free throw that
Don Allado converted, and the Phone Pals appeared to have the
game in the bag with a 107-104 advantage.
David, however, was also quick to make up
for his lapse. The Express ran the same inbounds play, and ran
it to perfection.
David popped out of the baseline to receive
the ball from import Shawn Daniels, who provided the perfect
screen for the former Lyceum of the Philippines and national
team star.
"Gary is great shooter. I have great
confidence in him. So the moment I saw him pop out I readily
gave him the ball because I knew he can hit that shot,’"
Daniels related later.
David launched a difficult attempt from the
side, and the ball swooshed through the ring, tying the game
at 107 with 10.3 seconds to go.
In the extra period, Daniels sparked a
decisive 10-0 run and David fueled it, leading to a 124-118
win that came on the heels of Air21’s 88-78 triumph over San
Miguel Beer last Wednesday.
Those victories jacked Air21’s win-loss
record to 3-0, giving the franchise its best start in five
years with the league. The Express, thanks to Barangay Ginebra
which stopped Red Bull 111-105 in the other game last Sunday,
found themselves on top of the 10-team heap.
With a do-it-all reinforcement in Daniels and David leading
a bunch of determined locals, there’s really no telling what
the Bert Lina ball club can do in the Fiesta Cup.
