JEREMIAH Gray has shown a glimpse of what exactly he can do in the PBA.
But for now, his sole focus is on the 3x3 circuit where Gray had just helped the TnT Tropang Giga win the opening leg of the league’s first men’s three-a-side tournament on Sunday.
“My focus is on the 3x3. We’re going to take care of business here,” said Gray as he basked in his first PBA title following the Tropang Giga’s 21-18 win over the Meralco Bolts in their winner-take-all match at the Ynares Sports Arena.
The 6-foot-5 Fil-Am made it clear what his priority is in light of the Board of Governors’ decision to relax requirements for Fil-foreign players wanting to enter the rookie draft of Asia’s oldest professional league.
Gray was among the Fil-foreign players nullified from this year’s rookie draft as he only had a Philippine passport to show, but was lacking the needed Bureau of Immigration (BI) certificate of recognition and Department of Justice (DoJ) affirmation.
Now that the requirements have been relaxed, Gray knows its sky’s the limit for him.
“I’m definitely happy with the change in the rule. I’m very excited. We’ve got some things cooking up,” he said.
Gray ended up the second leading scorer with the Tropang Giga in the maiden 3x3 leg with a 5.8-point average, just behind guard Almond Vosotros (6.0).
Gray raises the bar
He raised the bar in the playoffs, averaging 7.6 points from the quarterfinals and beyond and finished with a team-high 11 in the title-clinching win over the Bolts.
“It feels amazing to finally get the win under our belt, get the first win for the 3x3,” said Gray. “We got a lot more to do though, we have to focus on to the next leg.”
Having displayed his skills even just for a single leg of the 3x3, its obvious Gray is already ripe to play with the big boys by next season.
Will he?
“They changed the rule so most of the Fil-Ams are eligible as long as they have their passport. So when that time comes, we’re going to see what happens,” he said.
“But like I said, focus now is on 3x3. We’ll try to win this whole thing, and get better in the process.”
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