James Yap had been full of regrets on Saturday night, feeling as if he let his team down after muffing two game-tying treys that could have changed the narrative of their semis Game Three battle with Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.
Yap took it upon himself to provide the perfect cap-off of his Elasto Painters’ comeback from 25 down, but Lady Luck just didn’t go by his side as his long bombs inside the game’s final six seconds did not meet their target.
“Wala eh. Nasa huli ang pagsisisi. Dapat ginitigit ko muna, binaba ko muna pero instinct na eh.
“Sayang. Straight na sana eh, short lang. Nangyayari talaga yun. Ganoon talaga. Move on,” recalled the 14-year pro moments after the defeat.
“Pero, doon ko lang na-realize sa dugout na dapat ano. Kasi si Scottie [Thompson] lang [bantay] eh. Ganoon talaga. Hindi mo naman maiisip noon doon eh. Yung instinct na lang yun doon sa loob. Kung ano una mong iniisip, yun na yon,” he added.
What makes the defeat — most especially his missed shots — even tougher for the two-time PBA Most Valuable Player to take is that he knows that he can make those kinds of shots, in those kinds of situation.
Even his former coach in Tim Cone knows that Yap can hit those shots. “I’ve seen James take and make shots from that spot at the end of the game all the time. He makes more than he misses,” said the decorated tactician.
“Kayang-kaya yun,” said the 36-year-old Yap, who finished with just nine points on a horrid 1-of-8 shooting from the field.
“Hindi naman lagi araw-araw Pasko.”
But then, there’s no sense in crying over spilled milk for Yap. For him, he’s just going to pick himself up from the setback, and try to do better come Game Four on Monday, where he and RoS aim to send the series to the limit.
“Well. Wala na talaga yun, tapos na yun. Move on na lang,” said the seven-time PBA champion. “Hirap isipin eh, kasi ‘di mo na maibabalik eh. Makakasira lang. May chance pa naman eh. May chance pa mag-bounce back.
“So, kalimutan na ‘to, move on and bounce back na lang next game.”
