Gary David set to join Beermen

Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

As if San Miguel still needs more firepower, the defending Philippine Cup champion is set to sign Gary David from the free agent pool.

The latest development was bared by a source close to the situation to INQUIRER.net on Thursday, as the Beermen pulled off the shocker and came out of nowhere to snag the Bataan gunner.

David and the Beermen came to terms on Thursday noon.

The 37-year-old shooter was dropped by Meralco to the unrestricted free agent list on March 17 after the management suspended him for a game due to “insubordination” in the Bolts’ 104-99 defeat to NLEX on March 13.

Mahindra and Ginebra were the early favorites to acquire his services.

Earlier this week, David came back to the court and joined practice of PCBL team Mighty Sports.

David’s arrival to the Beermen will be a reunion of sorts with Marcio Lassiter, who were teammates in the 2012 Powerade team, and two-time MVP June Mar Fajardo, who was with him in the silver medal-winning Gilas Pilipinas squad back in 2013.

The 6-foot-2 guard provides another veteran presence and additional threat from the outside, who could fit in right away with San Miguel’s lineup led by shooters of Lassiter, Alex Cabagnot, Arwind Santos, Ronald Tubid, import Tyler Wilkerson and star center Fajardo.

This conference was a forgettable one for the Lyceum alum, setting career-lows after only averaging 6.6 points on a 35-percent shooting from threes, 1.1 rebounds and 0.7 assists in just 15.9 minutes in his five games with the Bolts.

With San Miguel, David is in a prime position to finally win his first PBA championship.

At 6-3, the Beermen are on a three-way race with David’s old team Meralco (7-2) and Alaska (6-3) for the top two spots in the 2016 Oppo PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals.