James Yap: ‘Hindi pa tapos yung series’

Rey Joble, InterAKTV · Thursday, December 27, 2012 · 10:14 pm

AKTV file photo/Paul Ryan Tan

The San Mig Coffee Mixers are staring at a 3-1 whole in their best-of-seven Philippine Cup semifinals series against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
And with Rain or Shine’s depth and rhythm, the odds are stacked highly against San Mig Coffee.
Just don’t tell that to James Yap.
“Laban lang nang laban. Hindi pa tapos yung series,” said Yap.
The San Mig Coffee superstar put up a yeoman’s effort in the Mixers’ Game Four loss, playing 40 minutes as they tried to claw back from an 18-point hole. He rebounded from a subpar output last game by leading all scorers with 20 points.
But had to bleed for every basket against the tough Rain or Shine defense, which rotated four men — Jireh Ibañes, Ryan Araña, Gabe Norwood, and Ronnie Matias — on him, limiting him to just 7-of-17 shooting.
Yap said he doesn’t mind the heavy exposure, even though he is still suffering the effects of nagging injuries.
“Balewala yung pagod at sakit. Hindi ko na iniisip yang mga yan,” said Yap. “Nagpakahirap at nagpakapagod kami makarating rito, kaya balewala na lahat yan.”
He expects more adjustments for San Mig Coffee for Game Five, where the Mixers will try to extend the series.
“Maganda yung screens na ibinibigay sa akin kaya medyo maganda laro ko kumpara last time. Pero hindi pa rin enough,” he said.

Top Rain or Shine defender Jireh Ibañes expects James Yap to bounce back

Rey Joble, InterAKTV · Wednesday, December 26, 2012 · 4:46 pm

AKTV/Paul Ryan Tan

San Mig Coffee superstar James Yap and Rain or Shine defensive specialist have had many heated battles on the hardcourt.
Despite their history, Ibañes maintains a healthy respect for Yap — even after the Mixers’ gunner’s woeful 1-of-11 shooting performance in Game Three of their Philippine Cup semifinals series.
“Alam naman natin kung gaano siya kagaling,” said Ibañes. “I think he was just having an off night.”
Ibañes said he expects Yap to bounce back in Game Four.
“Asahan na natin yan. He’s such a good player he will get his points anytime he wants. You can’t stop him, but you can limit him,” said Ibañes.
With San Mig Coffee trailing the series, 2-1, Ibañes knows Yap will try to have a monster game to help his team even the series. Yap already did it once, scoring 34 points in Game Two to lift San Mig Coffee to a 106-82 win.
“Tingin ko kasi mas dapat paghandaan natin siya sa ganitong situation. He will do everything to get his team the win,” said Ibañes.
Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao echoed his player’s sentiments.
“Kung masama laro niya nung Game Three, I expect James to play a lot better in Game Four,” said Guiao. “James will always get his points.”

Source:InterAKTV

Off-Game James: Rain or Shine effort, smarts, luck add up to Yap’s miserable performance

Rey Joble, InterAKTV · Wednesday, December 26, 2012 · 4:28 pm

AKTV/Paul Ryan Tan

It took effort and intelligence combined with a little bit of luck.
That was how Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao explained how his team was able to hold the deadly James Yap to just six points on 1-of-11 shooting on Christmas Day, allowing the Elasto Painters to cruise to a 98-72 victory in Game Three of their Philippine Cup semifinals series.
“Jireh Ibañes, Gabe Norwood and Ryan Araña really committed themselves to playing defense against James. Wala namang special formula except that these guys are intelligent enough and knows how to defend James properly. They just showed extra effort on defense in Game Three, especially after James erupted in Game Two,” said Guiao.
“We defended well. On the other hand, he was having an off night as well. Maybe the law of averages caught up with him because it’s hard to follow up a game where you played fantastic.”
Yap’s miserable performance came just a game after he sizzled for 34 points in Game Two, which the Mixers won, 106-82.
After the woeful outing, Guiao said he remains wary of Yap’s capacity to explode.
“You can’t just put anybody who’s quick enough to defend him. You need intelligent defenders to defend against an intelligent player like James Yap,” said Guiao.
“Si James, matalino siya because he knows how to use the screens properly and he has the special ability to catch off guard his defenders.”
Guiao expects Yap to continue to be a key to the series.
“San Mig Coffee knows that its best chance of winning is for James to score more, while our chances of winning is to try and stop him from producing more points.”


Source:InterAKTV

PBA Semis Game 3: San Mig Coffee and Rain or Shine Collide to Break Deadlock

BY Robi Raya

WHAT THIS GAME MEANS:

This series has been a unanimous draw so far. RoS controlled Game 1 while SMC controlled Game 2.
Game 3 should be that game where coaches start to make the telling adjustments. How will Coach Yeng counter James Yap’s explosion in Game 2? Will he send out double teams or show hard on screens and take the Let Anyone But James Beat Us approach? For SMC, will Coach Tim draw up more plays for the other guys? Will he lengthen his rotation to save the legs of his core guys?

 WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR:
James Yap’s supporting cast. After Big Game James exploded in Game 2, chances are RoS will throw the kitchen sink at him. So the Scoring Apostle, JDV, Coffee Prince, and Sakuragi would all need to step up and play their monikers to the hilt. Remember how the other Lakers saved Kobe’s poor shooting ass in Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals? Well, the Mixers supporting cast might be asked to do the same in Game 3.
 WHO TO WATCH OUT FOR:

The James Yap stopper, whoever that may be. Game 1. X points. Game 2. 34 points. I think we’re convinced now that RoS is too deep for SMC and that James Yap is the only one who can balance that disparity out. If the Elasto Painters want that 2-1 advantage they need some steady dose of first class defense from Norwood and Ibanes on Yap. They could even go Detroit Bad Boys when Yap drives to the paint, like sneak in a Beau Belga hip check or a Quinahan love tap after he takes the shot. Whatever happens, RoS needs to stop the most skilled local 2-guard ever in the PBA.

Photos c/o Spin.ph and Interaksyon.com/Interaktv


http://www.slamonlineph.com/philippine-basketball-association/pba-semis-game-3-san-mig-coffee-and-rain-or-shine-collide-to-break-deadlock/

Philippine Cup SF Series Preview: San Mig Coffee vs Rain or Shine

will probably get most of the attention in the semis. You’ve got all the trappings of a potentially historic one.
(A) Two coaches who respect but don’t really like each other (B) Yap vs. Chan or Yap vs. Tiu (depending on the contest) (C) There’s Marc Pingris taking on the Extra Rice Bros (D) You’ve got a free-flowing, liberal type of offense going against the most methodic and strict. And these two teams are coming off of a 7-game series last conference.
They split their two games in the eliminations — both one-point games. So this should be close as any Barrera-Morales fight (I refuse to use Pacquiao-Marquez as reference).

TIPPING POINTS
More than the quarterfinals series against BGSM, Rain or Shine’s DEPTH and UNPREDICTABILITY should be a bigger advantage for the Elasto Painters against SMC in this series. I think everyone is pretty much convinced that this will go to a Game 6 or Game 7; and by that time both teams should be a bit tired and both teams should have seen enough of each other to make the necessary adjustments.
Coach Yeng Guiao goes 12-deep while Coach Tim Cone fields ten guys with players 9 and 10 getting minimal PT. As the series goes longer, RoS will have the fresher legs and SMC should be the counter puncher that will make more adjustments because of the unpredictability of the Yeng System.
The grossly underrated San Mig Coffee DEFENSE – without bias and with being whole-heartedly objective, the Mixers  defense this conference is one of the best I have seen in the last decade. Get this: in one four-game stretch in the eliminations, SMC limited its opponents to 78, 68, 68, and 73 points (allowing a league-best 83.1 ppg!). They are ’04 Detroit Pistons-destructive on defense. Expect the Mixers to walk the ball to the halfcourt line and win low-scoring ballgames.

KEY MATCH-UP
Marc Pingris/Yancy De Ocampo/Joe Devance (27ppg and 22rpg) vs. Extra Rice Inc./Jervy Cruz/Larry Rodriguez (37ppg and 25rpg)
If this series can be compared to historic featherweight and junior welterweight fights like Morales-Barrera 2 or any of the Gatti-Ward fights, there is that war in the paint that can potentially remind us of Ali vs. Frazier.
I would give the advantage to the RoS bigs because those four mean dudes can just wear down the San Mig Coffee bigs. I’m pretty sure they will be more productive, but if Pingris, YDC, and JDV hold their ground, the Mixers should have a good shot at this.

X-FACTOR
Last conference’s Governor’s Cup Finals was Gabe Norwood’s “I’m one of the best players in the league” coming out party. He was a Swiss Army Knife that plugged the holes and provided whatever the team needed. The catch in this series? Jireh Ibanes may not play and if he does, he’ll run around hurt. That means Gabe Norwood will be the one chasing James Yap’s butt. Norwood’s workload will be doubled in this series and I don’t see him making the same impact he did in that coming out party. But if he does, RoS fans can lick their chops to the Finals and write scurrilous comments down there.
PREDICTIONS
I really like Rain or Shine’s depth and unpredictability in this one so I’m saying RoS in 6. Wait. Make it RoS in 7. Shit I don’t know. Make that San Mig Coffee in 7.
Fine! RoS in 6 or 7.

Photos c/o Spin.ph and Interaksyon.com/InterAKTV


http://www.slamonlineph.com/philippine-basketball-association/philippine-cup-semis-series-preview-san-mig-coffee-rain-or-shine-build-up-on-rivalry/