Gary David does a different kind of shuffle

He glides through the hard court eluding a guard, takes a half spin, lifts the ball and scores! Meet PBA basketball player Gary David who earned the moniker “El Granada” for his three-point scoring exploits, especially in PBA Season 37 where he scored 30 points in six straight games  the first-ever Pinoy player to be able to earn this distinction. But there is this side of Gary that is not known to his legions of fans: His terpsichorean skills on the dance floor. 

Yes, you read it right. For his sporting fans, friends and whoever may have heard of his name mentioned in the office canteen or barber shop conversations about what’s going on around the basketball circuit nowadays, Gary, basketball star extraordinaire, is joining TV5’s newest competition Celebrity Dance Battle that will have viewers glued to their TV screens every Saturday night at 7:45.

Celebrity Dance Battle is hosted by the Dance Goddess of Philippine TV, Lucy Torres-Gomez. It brings the ballroom dance competition to a whole new level by pitting celebrities against each other and pairing them up with dance partners who are determined to take their battle all the way to the championship. Co-hosting the show with Lucy are NCAA basketball heartthrobs Anthony and David Semerad — who are also collectively known as the Semerad Twins. Talk about your basketball idols that can trip the light fantastic.

Gary, who started his sporting career in 2003, played for Montaña Pawnshop Jewelers in the PBL and won the MVP award in his first outing. He then represented the Philippines in the 2003 Southeast Asian Games and was subsequently drafted by Coca-Cola Tigers in 2004 as the 10th pick, under coach Chot Reyes. He now plays for the Meralco Bolts and was twice selected in the Mythical First Team twice (2007, 2012) and was awarded the Most Improved Player in 2007. He also was picked Best Player of the Conference for Season 37 where he led the Powerade Tigers to the finals.  

As to how he transitioned from the hard court to the dance floor, Gary divulged that it was coach Chot who initially informed him about the dance show. “I was told by coach Chot that there is a dance battle being planned in TV5 and he’ll nominate me to represent the Gilas team (which won the second place in the recent Asian FIBA and is now Barcelona-bound) in case it pushes through.” He did not think much of it until somebody from production called him about it. Gary said that he actually had some dancing exposure during high school in his province in Bataan. “I had to stop school, and to keep myself busy I joined a dance group and we competed in our place,” he said.   Their signature piece then was hip-hop and they competed for about a year. “I stopped when I suffered an accident when I did a back flip,” Gary confided.

He knows that his competition now is on another level, so he tries to find time from his practice sessions as a player for Meralco Bolts. He has to go to dance rehearsals to get his moves right— smoothen the rough edges and make sure that the live audience for Celebrity Dance Battle will be in for a treat. Speaking of what he has in store for his fans, Gary promises to show exciting moves far different from what he exhibits on the hard court. “I will even be in costume to make our presentation livelier.”

So every Saturday, catch Celebrity Dance Battle as it presents its first batch of celebrity contestants who represent various fields of human achievement: For PBA fans, will Gary’s fancy footwork on the dance floor make him the El Granada of the dance arena as well? Then there is actress-host Valerie Concepcion, ready to heat up the dance floor with her trademark sultry moves, the dazzling Priscilla Meirelles showcasing her dance prowess as well, transgender beauty queen Kevin Balot, along with a glittering array of other stars. The judges’ panel is also as star-studded with renowned choreographer and dance guru Douglas Nierras, international ballroom professional and dance sport Olympian Edna Ledesma, actress-host and dance diva G Tongi and professional model and international celebrity Allison Harvard (of America’s Next Top Model fame).