ANTIPOLO CITY – It was his first game back from a long layoff, but veteran Gary David is not about to justify the dismal showing he had in Mahindra’s 105-83 loss to Rain or Shine in the PBA Governors Cup on Wednesday night.
Deputy coach Chris Gavina inserted the 38-year-old David in his rotation and gave him limited playing time of 11 minutes in his first outing in the pro league since Game Five of the Governors Cup semifinals when he was still donning the San Miguel jersey.
David finished with just a single point and a turnover as he obviously struggled from the field where he was 0 for 9 overall, including 0 for 6 from three-point range at the Ynares Center here.
The shooting guard from Dinalupihan, Bataan admitted he only practiced with Mahindra full-time on Tuesday, barely 24 hours prior to the game against the Elasto Painters.
But he’s not using that as an excuse for the poor numbers he had in his first game in a Mahindra uniform.
“Hindi ako nag-e-excuse sa mga ganung bagay,” said the four-time league scoring champion, who received a call-up from the Floodbuster just last Sunday. “Basta laro lang ako.”
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Already resigned that he may be playing elsewhere when the Beermen no longer offered him a new contract during the offseason, David said he did not find the time to get himself in shape.
Neither did he expect the late call from Mahindra.
“Kaya yung timing ko sa basketball wala pa talaga,” he said.
David also stressed his entry doesn’t mean automatically turning around the fortunes of the Floodbuster, who have now lost their first two games of the season
His veteran presence is what he can offer to the young franchise.
“Beterano ako kaya kinakausap ko yung mga bata. Yun ang binibigay ko sa kanila ngayon, yung leadership ko,” said El Granada.
Once he gets into his old playing rhythm, David vows to provide Mahnidra more.
“Naniniwala sila sa akin kaya I will prove it to them,” he concluded.
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