Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s Jayson David is set to undergo ACL repair after the Holy Week—or when swelling on his LCL subsides. This comes after he sustained a knee injury in Ginebra’s opening game in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup against the Macau Black Knights a couple of weeks ago.
It is an unfortunate turn of events for a rising star, who is nonetheless keeping a positive spirit even in the face of missing the rest of Season 50 and going through a long, tedious recovery. For David, the unfortunate injury is just part of God’s plan for him—which is why he isn’t sweating things out.
“May plano si God sa akin, so hindi ako mag-aalala, hindi ako magku-question,” he told the PBA. “Basta kasama ko si God at yung buong pamilya ko, okay na ako.”
Jayson David Gets Grounded
The timing of this injury couldn’t be any worse for Jayson David. The 6-foot-3 wing had just gotten Tim Cone’s trust and was getting more minutes with an increasing role at Ginebra. Now, he is grounded for at least a year. Naturally, his first reaction was to be disheartened.
“Nung bumagsak ako parang nanlumo ako. First game namin so excited ako,” David admitted as he recounted his scary fall against Macau. “Sobrang excited ako sa conference na ito, may minutes na ako, e. Ilang taon ko rin trinabaho ‘yun…”
David was drafted No. 20 by Ginebra in the Season 47 PBA Draft in 2022 but could never quite break into the rotation in his first few years in the league. Things changed for the 29-year-old in the last Philippine Cup, where he saw his minutes spike to 17.9 a game, allowing him to put up 6.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists.
Denial, Then Acceptance for Jayson David
Jayson David’s initial dejection soon turned to denial as the versatile swingman didn’t feel the seriousness of the injury—at least when he was walking.
“Actually naglalakad ako ng maayos. Hindi ko ramdam. Sabi ko nga parang hindi ACL ito,” recalled David, whose hopes were dashed when an MRI confirmed the ruptured ACL and a badly swollen LCL.
Eventually, David accepted his fate.
“Hindi naman natin lahat gusto ‘yung nangyari. Pero andiyan na, e. Tanggapin na lang natin,” he said.
Now, Jayson David is waiting for the swelling in his LCL to subside so he can get his ACL repaired. The good news is that his spirit is undeterred.
