LA Tenorio has opted to rest from active competition to make way for Jayson David, Barangay Ginebra’s long-awaited surprise package.
Barely a day since being reactivated by the Gin Kings, David immediately brought the energy and the enthusiasm that perfectly embodies the character of the team widely known for its never-say-die attitude.
On Wednesday, in his first game back, the 20th overall pick of Barangay Ginebra three years ago made his presence felt right away and fell just a rebound away from posting a double-double performance in the Gin Kings’ 131-106 dumping of NorthPort in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Philsports Arena.
David’s stats line were impressive — 25 points and nine rebounds — as he didn’t have problems fitting in quickly to Ginebra’s roster despite his inactivity from actual games.
Ginebra’s decision to make this sudden change caught Ginebra’s fans by surprise, but David’s big game was more than enough to justify such big move.
“LA has to take some time off because he needs to concentrate on his coaching duties with (Batang) Gilas,” said Cone.
“As for Jayson, he has paid the price. He has done the things he needed to do. He’s the guy that really comes to work really, everyday and he was really the players’ that were really talking about in the preseason when we came back from the finals.”
What the fans didn’t know, according to Cone, was the big impact David could bring to the Gin Kings and in his first game back, the player who was kept out of the roster for several years, let his game do the talking.
“He was the MVP in the preseason and we were trying to find ways to get him into the line up because we have a veteran line up and this is something we wanted to do for awhile, to get Jayson into the line up.”
