ANTIPOLO – Fran Yu knew right away for whom he offered Titan Ultra’s breakthrough win in the PBA 50th Season Governors’ Cup.
“Thank you, tol, binigay mo yung panalo sa amin,” he said with a smile on his face after the Giant Risers finally barged into the win column following their 103-87 upset of defending champion TNT on Wednesday night.
“Para sa kanya itong game na ito.”
The 'tol' he’s referring to, of course, is none other than good friend JV Gallego, who sadly perished in a car accident early Saturday morning at NLEX.
Gallego was 28.
READ: JV Gallego, ex-Red Lion and Bulldog, dies aged 28
The death of the former National U and San Beda contributor saddened Yu so much since the two of them had been childhood friends who began playing together at Chiang Kai Shek College.
“One-two punch talaga kami nun sa Chiang Kai from grade school to high school,” he recalled. “Lagi lang akong under his wings kasi ako yung point guard, siya yung scorer sa team namin.
They went their separate ways in college, as Gallego initially went to the Bulldogs before transferring to the Red Lions. Yu, on the other hand, donned the University of the East red-and-white then the Letran blue-and-red.
“Nagkalaban na kami,” he said. “Masaya lang balikan lahat ng memories na magkasama kami tsaka nung magkalaban na kami.”
Lasting memories
It had been a long time since they saw each other again and that Friday night, a few hours before Gallego met his untimely death, proved to be their last get-together.
“Ang daming tumawag sa akin nung umaga. Nung una, hindi ako makapaniwala,” said Yu, who was able to confirm the passing through their acquaintances who were left in the company of Gallego.
That’s the reason why the 5-foot-9 Giant Risers guard saw to it that he has been present in his late mate's wake on a daily basis.
“Every night, pumupunta ako kasi nga matagal kaming hindi nagkita,” he said. “Ano ba naman yung one week na magpunta ka sa wake niya para maalala mo lahat.”
In his first game since Gallego's death, Yu scored five points and a game-high 11 out of Titan Ultra’s 21 assists, as the Giant Risers finally stopped the bleeding after losing their first three outings.
Without a doubt, Yu believed his good friend was up there looking out for him.
“Lagi kong pinagdadasal sa kanya na sana lagi niya akong gabayan sa game, gabayan niya yung family niya,” he said. “At saka binigyan niya ako ng lakas ngayon para maglaro.
“Mami-miss namin siya ng mga kaibigan namin.”
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