It was tough for James Yap just to watch on the sidelines, practically helpless, when the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters faced the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in a best-of-three quarterfinal series in the 2018 Philippine Cup.
The two-time league Most Valuable Player had been forced to sit out due to hamstring issues. And with the Elasto Painters’ rotation cut short with him out, the much taller Gin Kings were able to sweep their way to the semis.
And so Yap expressed excitement over facing the Gin Kings anew in the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup semis.
“Well ganun naman talaga. Actually this series, I’m so excited,” said the 36-year-old, a well-known Ginebra slayer. “Yun nga, last conference ‘di ako nakalaro.
“Sana kahit paano makatulong ako sa team for this series.”
Unfortunately, the start of the series didn’t go well for Yap. The Elasto Painters bowed to Jeff Chan – of all the players in the Barangay – and the Gin Kings, 89-102, and are now down 0-1 in the race-to-three clash.
The Elasto Painters were able to demolish an 18-point wall early and trimmed it to just five, and kept distance from there, until they lost gas late in the game. They then allowed Ginebra to unload a 16-0 run to finish the bout.
“Biglang lumayo nga eh. Nag-relax kami sa defense. Actually maganda yung defense nila sa amin. Hindi kami masyadong naka-shoot nung last six minutes kaya medyo bigla sila lumayo,” Yap admitted of the loss.
“I’m sure masaya lahat ng Ginebra fans ngayon. Bawi na lang kami next game.”
Still, even with the early deficit in the series, Yap’s optimism hasn’t dwindled. For the seven-time champion, this is the beauty of a series: there will always be an opportunity to learn and adjust for the next outing.
“Kaya series eh, para may chance na mag-adjust next game.”
