GRAY TAKES ANOTHER STEP FORWARD AFTER BOUNCING BACK AGAINST NLEX

JEREMIAH Gray quietly bounced back from his scoreless outing in Dubai as Barangay Ginebra dominated NLEX, 104-74,  last Sunday. 

Gray had nine points, seven rebounds, and four assists in the game where he also played 24 minutes and 27 seconds. That was in stark contrast to his outing against San Miguel where he came off the bench and went 0-of-4 and only played for 10 minutes and 54 seconds two weeks ago.

READ: Ginebra rediscovers fiery form, sends NLEX crashing back to earth

Cone said he made a coaching blunder when he decided not to start the 6-foot-5 Gray for the first time this conference during the San Miguel game.

"I made the coaching error of making him come off the bench in Dubai after he had made really good progress through the first three games," Cone admitted. "And when I made him come off the bench, he just didn’t have the same feel. So we threw him back out there and started him in the line-up again (against NLEX).

Barangay Ginebra has been careful on Gray’s well-being with two ACL tears during his career, but there is no denying that he has the tools of becoming a key player for the Gin Kings more so since they are looking to fill the gap left by Jamie Malonzo following his move to Japan.

"Miah truly is probably, along with RJ (Abarrientos), maybe our most skilled player just in terms of pure skills, basketball skills. He can score on all three levels. But still, you’ve got to remember, he was out for nearly two years and he had a catastrophic injury so we’ve been careful with him."

As a starter, the 29-year-old Gray is averaging 10 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in four games.

Last season in the Philippine Cup, Gray was only norming 2.0 points, 1.45 rebounds, and 0.45 assists in 11 games with the Gin Kings, including one as part of the first five.

"We’ve been starting him in the line-up because we want him to understand how important he is to the team and we want him to get confidence from there," said Cone.

Gray immediately responded in his return to the starting role against NLEX when he had four points and five rebounds in the first quarter alone where Barangay Ginebra built a 26-11 lead.

"He responded really well," Cone said.

"Got the first two baskets for us on offensive rebounds, and that’s kind of what we’re expecting from Miah. We want to see, we want to use all of his skills. And he’s got great size for his position. He can rebound. He’s got good vision to pass. He can score outside, inside. But he just needs to realize that on his own, that he can do that. We can tell him all we want, but he has to really feel it."

Cone feels this is an importante next step in getting Gray his groove back after sitting out for nearly two years. 

"I think this is another big step for him (Gray). It’s all steps forward for him. And he took a step back in Dubai, but that was my fault more than his. And I'm really happy that he stepped again forward. And we expect by the end of the conference that he's going to be a really dynamic, impactful player for us," he said. 

"Teams are going to have to worry about him." 

2025-11-04T10:15:07Z