PBA fans were reminded of how good Gary David was and what could be again after a vintage performance in Mahindra’s heartbreaking 99-95 overtime loss to Rain or Shine last Sunday in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
The 38-year-old David responded after getting the call from coach Chris Gavina and scored all of his 13 points in the fourth quarter that enabled the Floodbuster to come back from a seven-point deficit and take a six-point lead.
He would have been the front page story had he and the rest of Mahindra had protected their lead down the stretch.
The Floodbuster eventually lost in the extension.
But for David, the work he had done recovering from a knee injury he sustained in the Philippine Cup was rewarding.
He underwent arthroscopic surgery, then spent time playing for Mighty Sports in the Dubai Invitational Tournament last month in preparation for the midseason conference.
“Sa’kin naman ready lang ako e. Read lang naman ako pag binunot ni coach Chris. Alam naman niya na kakabalik ko lang sa injury tapos binibigyan niya rin ng kumpiyansa yung mga bata,” David said after Sunday’s game.
“Basta ready lang ako kapag binunot niya ako. Sabi ni coach bago mag-start yung game, ‘Ready lang ako’. Sabi ko ‘Ready ako since birth.’”
David’s performance in a losing effort recalled his days with Powerade, particularly his signature game against the B-Meg Llamados (now Star Hotshots) in the 2011-12 Philippine Cup quarterfinals where the No. 8 Tigers stunned the No. 1 Llamados.
His most memorable moment in that game was when he stared at his hands and blew at it as if it were on fire, prompting then-television analyst Jason Webb to utter the words: “Gary David, nagliliyab na!”
He was lighting it up again Sunday, scoring 10 straight points that tied the game at 80-all. Then he hit a triple over Rain or Shine’s James Yap, who was on the losing end of Powerade’s upset of B-Meg, that put Mahindra up 86-80.
“Pag nakikita niya ata ako, parang nanlalaki mga mata niya e,” Yap said in jest.