A silky-smooth jump shot and a hard-nose defender just like PBA legend Kenneth Duremdes.
That’s how head coach Tim Cone described Jeremiah Gray in front of reporters following his best performance in Ginebra uniform where he buried three huge triples during a searing 13-3 finishing kick that completed the Kings' 114-111 comeback over the NLEX Road Warriors.
Cone was reminded of how great a healthy Gray is while also defending NLEX’s import Wayne Selden Jr. in the waning minutes of their win.
“Miah is gonna have a coming-out party for this conference. Last game I thought he was brilliant but tonight, even more. He’s starting to show what he can do,” said Cone.
“He was the guy in the last two minutes who went out and guarded the import (Selden). He’s hitting his shots, beautiful pull-ups. It reminds me so much of Kenneth Duremdes with the type of silky-smooth pull-up that he has. He has the ability to shoot deep and he can damage you around the rim,” Cone added.
Gray finished with 19 points built on five triples while he also held the NLEX import to just three points in the last five minutes of the contest – finally showing the beaming potential in the PBA after it was delayed by an ACL injury that sidelined him for quite a long time.
“He was coming off a long ACL injury, over a year. Usually, even from the time you come back it takes you more months to really be comfortable after that injury, get your game and confidence back. That last conference gave him that opportunity to slowly come back,” the multi-titled mentor explained.
For Gray’s part, going through such adversity early in his PBA career just made him better a player all thanks to his family and friends who stayed with him during that year-long lull.
“It made me a lot more grateful. Luckily, I have a great supporting cast with my family and a lot of my friends kept my thoughts and morale up that time I was injured. I feel very blessed to get back in,” said Gray who added he’s still continuing to work his way back to his top form.
“I am still trying to get back to my athleticism so I can dunk the ball a little more but I just feel very blessed. It’s tough to comeback but I feel it’s making me a better player and making me appreciate the game a lot more,” he added.