Apple on Chad with ANTA, Basketball Bond, and Their Relationship

The first approach from ANTA regarding Chad Gammad did not go directly to the Letran guard. It went through Apple David.

That detail explains David’s presence during Gammad’s formal introduction as one of ANTA Philippines’ newest collegiate athletes on Wednesday, August 26. Although David helped connect Gammad with the company, she said she is neither his manager nor an official representative of the brand.

“Not officially with ANTA, but I guess I’ll be supporting ANTA as well, as I support Chad,” David told ALL-STAR.

Gammad, an 18-year-old Filipino-Canadian entering his sophomore season with the Letran Knights, signed a multi-year agreement that made him the first Letran basketball player to join ANTA’s roster of athletes.

ANTA Philippines marketing manager Mikko Abello said that he first noticed Gammad during the Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup. Abello said he contacted David to ask whether Gammad was already working with a sportswear company because ANTA was interested in signing him.

“This one actually happened because I’m friends with Mikko. He asked me,” David said. “I was the middleman, but it was Chad who decided. Chad talked it over with his family in Canada, and they all decided to say yes, agree to the partnership and sign with ANTA.”

David said she does not intend to take charge of Gammad’s other off-court opportunities. Ultimately, David said ANTA’s long-term vision separated the company from the other possibilities.

“It’s very holistic,” she said. “It’s not just, you know, a mere partnership. ANTA really wanted to support Chad in a way that is focused on basketball and on helping him perform well for the upcoming season. It’s really more about what’s included in the partnership.”

The fit also made sense because two of Gammad’s favorite players, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson, are ANTA Basketball’s most recognizable athletes. Irving has his own signature line and serves as the company’s chief creative officer for basketball, while Thompson signed the first lifetime endorsement agreement in ANTA Basketball history earlier this year.

“For one, Kyrie and Klay are his idols,” David said. “Obviously, Klay for his outside shooting, and Kyrie for his basketball IQ. They’re guards as well, like Chad. He likes how Kyrie moves and sees the court.”

Gammad’s shooting is also the clearest reason ANTA could see value in investing early.

As a rookie in NCAA Season 101, Gammad averaged 7.3 points in approximately 16 minutes per game while shooting close to 40 percent from three-point range. His responsibilities expanded during the 2026 preseason, when he started all 11 of Letran’s Filoil games and averaged 10 points.

His signature performance came in the quarterfinals against UST. Gammad scored 27 markers and converted 7 of his 14 three-point attempts, including the shot that tied the game at 89 and forced overtime. Letran eventually escaped with a 103-102 victory to advance to the semifinals before losing to eventual champion JRU.

“The Filoil EcoOil game against UST. That three-point shot that sent the game to overtime,” she said. “I was very happy about that because he was able to showcase his potential.”

Her support does not prevent her from offering basketball criticism. With more than a decade of experience reporting on the sport, David said she occasionally questions Gammad’s reluctance to shoot.

“Sometimes, I tell him that he passes too much instead of taking the shot. He has the green light to shoot,” she said. “Sometimes, sabi ko sa kanya, ‘Why do you have to pass it? Why did you even pass it? Why do you pass up open shots?’”

David understands that some of that hesitation may be connected to Gammad’s position within the team. He is still an incoming sophomore playing alongside older teammates, whom she believes he may naturally defer to during games.

She has also learned signs when Gammad is finding his rhythm. An early three-pointer is normally a positive indicator, although his offense has recently taken longer to develop.

“Recently, parang nagiging diesel na medyo mabagal and then he starts making his shots in the second quarter,” David said. “But what I like about him is that he’s the type of player who can find his rhythm at any point in the game. I think he has developed that.”

The basketball conversations work in both directions. David said Gammad watches games she covers, including assignments that require her to travel, while she tries to understand the physical and time demands of his schedule.

Neither expects constant attention from the other because both are familiar with the demands of working in basketball.

“We really just support each other,” she said. “We don’t really demand anything from each other because we understand the demands of our jobs.”

David began her sports-media career as Adamson University’s courtside correspondent in UAAP Season 75 in 2012. She later entered PBA coverage in 2014 and has since become one of the more recognizable courtside reporters and sports personalities in the country.

Gammad, meanwhile, is an 18-year-old collegiate athlete at the beginning of his public career. David is 33.

According to David, they met and began dating in April 2026, after Gammad had already turned 18. She has repeatedly denied knowing or communicating with him before then. Their relationship became public the following month, when her appearances at Letran’s Filoil games led to widespread speculation.

The 15-year age difference quickly divided public opinion.

Critics have questioned whether the difference in age, professional experience, and social influence creates an unequal dynamic, even if both people are legally adults. Others have approached the issue through sports-journalism ethics, arguing that a reporter becoming romantically involved with an athlete inside the same basketball environment can create questions about professional boundaries and perceived objectivity.

Veteran broadcaster Kara David, for example, publicly said her principal concern was not the age difference itself but the importance of journalists maintaining distance from people within the subjects they cover. No employer, team or league, however, has publicly announced a disciplinary finding against Apple.

Some women in sports media have also expressed concern that the situation could reinforce stereotypes they have spent years challenging, particularly the perception that female courtside reporters are less serious about their work or are primarily interested in forming relationships with athletes.

On the other side of the discussion, supporters have emphasized that Gammad was already 18 when the relationship began, according to David’s account, and that he has publicly defended the relationship. They have also pointed to a gendered double standard: Relationships between older men and younger women are frequently normalized, while older women with younger partners are more readily subjected to labels such as “mommy” or “cougar.”

Serious online accusations have included claims of grooming. David has denied those allegations, and no public evidence has surfaced showing that the two had a relationship before Gammad turned 18.

Online conversation has also moved beyond questions of age or professional ethics. Posts about the couple have attracted Mother’s Day jokes, comments infantilizing Gammad, and AI-generated images depicting him with other women. Gammad has responded publicly by defending David and asking people to think before attacking her.

“I read everything. We both read everything,” she said.

Reading the comments, she explained, is different from allowing them to shape how they view their relationship.

“I know how social media works, and I know whose opinions matter,” David said. “I only pay attention to the people who matter.”

She said their families, friends, and Gammad’s team have not been negatively affected by the public reaction. From their perspective, the criticism remains separate from the people who know them personally and observe the relationship away from social media.

“Everything on social media is just noise,” she said. “It’s no big deal for us.”

When asked directly about whether their relationship may work against the progress women have made — along with the opposing view that a woman should be free to choose her partner — David did not dismiss the concern as unreasonable.

“All the arguments are valid. The concerns are valid and understandable,” she said.

“It’s not one-size-fits-all,” she continued. “If a previous relationship similar to ours turned out to be negative or harmful, it doesn’t mean the same thing is happening sa amin at all.”

For David, the more appropriate response is not necessarily public approval but a willingness to recognize that people outside the relationship possess limited information about how it functions privately.

“I guess there really should be more understanding and, above all, respect toward each kind of relationship moving forward,” she said.

Questions involving age, professional boundaries, personal agency, and gender are not settled because the individuals involved say they are comfortable. At the same time, those questions do not establish misconduct on their own.

David’s position is that the people closest to both of them, including Gammad’s parents and basketball team, have not raised the concerns being expressed online. She believes that context should matter when outsiders evaluate their relationship.

“If nobody in our close circle, not even his team, not even his parents, or my circle as well, is saying anything bad about it,” she said, “then I guess people outside those circles shouldn’t be, either.”

The public debate will likely continue as Gammad’s profile grows. His ANTA signing gives him a larger commercial platform, while the departures of several Letran veterans have created an opportunity for him to assume a greater role in NCAA Season 102.

The coming season may not resolve what people think about his relationship. It will, however, provide a more conventional test of Gammad’s growing visibility on whether the shooter who first caught ANTA’s attention during the preseason can turn that breakout into sustained production for Letran.