‘Big Game James’ to the rescue

A true leader knows when to crank up not only his game but also that of his teammates. B-MEG Derby Ace’s James Yap did just that in earning the Accel-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week honors for the period Feb. 8 to March 6 With the Llamados depleted owing to injuries to center Don Carlos Allado and forward Rico Maierhofer, and on the verge of matching its longest losing streak in years, Yap took it upon himself to spark and lead the team out of an alarming rut. The result was two explosive games by the two-time Most Valuable Player, which translated into back-to-back wins as Derby Ace surged from near the bottom and into the middle of the Commissioner’s Cup field. In those much-needed victories over Air21 and Barangay Ginebra, Yap averaged 23.5 points, anchored on 50 percent three-point shooting, on top of 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 blocked shot in powering the Llamados’ rise from a 0-2 start in the mid-season tourney. “James is slowly getting back to his game shape so he’s starting to play the way he should be playing," said Llamados coach Jorge Gallent. “He also knows he has to go a step higher due to the injuries to our key players." Refusing to take all the credit. Yap simply said it was part of his responsibilities as team co-captain together with Roger Yap. “Nu’ng matalo kami in our first two games, nagka-kanya-kanya. Kaya ang sabi ko sa kanila, kailangan tulungan, na we must know our roles sa team at hindi kaya ng iisang tao lang," he related. “Parang they took it to heart, kaya ibang-iba talaga ang naging laro namin in our last two games," he added. “Nagtutulungan na talaga at everybody nag-e-extra effort." His games of late are also not telling the whole tale, he pointed out. “Before the conference started, nagkalagnat ako for one week, kaya hindi pa ako 100 percent ngayon. Mga 80 pa lang." That is the reason he’s been putting in extra time on the practice court, and the positive effects are showing. Yap delivered 22 points in Derby Ace’s 121-92 win over Air21 last Wednesday. KG Canaleta actually led all scorers with 28 points, but Yap’s 18 first-half points pointed the Llamados to the breakthrough win that prevented them from prolonging a slide that dates back to the last two games of the Philippine Cup. In the follow-up 96-89 win over Ginebra last Sunday, Yap poured in a tea-high 25 points and added 10 rebounds for his first career double-double since the 2006 Philippine Cup. Yap knows his team is still far from its objective of finishing the nine-game eliminations within the top six, and he is willing to do whatever it takes to realize that. “Every game, importante, kaya kung ano ang magagawa, basta para sa team," he stated. - KY, GMA News