CHOT REYES just couldn’t give up on Gary David, who he said is one of the most loyal and passionate members of Gilas Pilipinas.
An emotional Reyes bared that David has been with the from the very start that he couldn’t bear to see him on a slump just as years of hard work heads to its climax.
“From Day One, he has been there. Even in the Jones Cup, Champions Cup, even with the cadets (in Hong Kong), Gary David has not taken a day off ... He has been there from Day One,” said Reyes.
Reyes felt that it was just normal for a scorer like David to have a shooting slump, which he finally broke when he scored 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting against Kazakhstan on Friday in the Fiba-Asia Championship at the MOA Arena.
David had been under fire as he struggled in the preliminaries, but finally fans got to cheer for his baskets.
Reyes said he never lost faith in the Globalport star.
“It’s something for me personally that I felt was just part of basketball. Shooters, they’ll miss. The worst thing I can do is not give him the minutes, as a coach,” said Reyes.
“I couldn’t abandon him after making himself available in giving up all his rest and vacation and family time,” said Reyes.
David thanked Reyes for the trust.
"Si coach, hindi sumuko sa akin. Sana, tuluy-tuloy lang ito,” said David during the post-game press conference.
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