Gary David is not the Philippine Basketball Association scoring champion for nothing.
The veteran gunslinger last night rescued the Philippines against Korea, dropping two killer jumpers inside the final 1:25 for an 82-79 victory that kept the Filipinos tied for the lead in the 34th Jones Cup at the Taipei Physical Education College gym here.
And after all the excitement generated on the court, team Philippines later on dedicated its third straight win to the Filipinos back home, who are grieving the loss of Interior Government Secretary Jesse Robredo.
“There’s a lot of sadness and mourning going on back home in the Philippines right now,” national mentor Chot Reyes told international media, moments after David scored 14 points and Gabe Norwood and Sol Mercado provided backcourt energy for the Filipinos.
“One of our cabinet members died and his body was found in the sea this morning,” he continued. “We talked about it (plane tragedy) as a team and all we can do is give them (Filipinos back home) something to be proud of, something to be happy for the moment.”
David connected on a running jumper under heavy pressure with 1:25 left that snapped a 77-all tie, which completed a play designed specifically for him.
And after the Koreans tied it all again at 79 off a Jung Hyun-Lee layup, David asked for the ball in the next Philippine offensive, found a little opening and hit a 20-foot jumper that hit nothing but net with 45.3 ticks to go.
“My job in this team is to score, and that’s what I did,” David, who averaged 26 points a game for Powerade in the PBA last season, said. “The last (jump shot) was a play that wasn’t intended for me. But I found an opening and I took the shot.” Korea bungled its next offensive and the Filipinos controlled the defensive glass.
Norwood was then sent to the line by a Lee foul with 24.1 remaining, and the Rain or Shine guard who has served Philippine cause numerous times before, made just the rear end of his charities.
That left the Koreans no other choice but to attempt a triple with Tae Sul-Kim, also a regular on the Korean National team, taking a heave from close to 30 feet that was way off the mark.
The win was the third straight for the Filipinos counting victories over Jordan and Taipei-B, and they return to the floor today against Japan, which scored a shock 84-83 decision of the Jordanians later in the night.
The United States, represented here by a great bunch of former college stars and D-League standouts, routed Taipei-B, 116-71, with 5-foot-9 starting guard James Justice electrifying the crowd with several gravity-defying dunks.
Justice had three consecutive slams late in the game, one of them off a 6-foot-10 Taiwanese center that has the home crowd roaring in approval.
This US Team is using the event to showcase its talent and hopefully land jobs abroad for its members.
But coach Travis Mcavene dismissed all notions that they are here just for showtime.
“I think there are several teams that can be competitive with us,” McAvene said. “We respect Iran and the Philippines. I don’t think we will take anybody lightly.
“Tomorrow, we will play hard and go nose-to-nose with (defending champion) Iran. I won’t hide the fact that we came here to win this championship,” he added.
David saves day for Philippines vs. Korea
