DEFENSE KEY FOR SAN MIG COFFEE
Leading 1-0 in their best-of-seven semifinal against Barangay Ginebra, San Mig Coffee guard James Yap highlighted the importance of taking the first game of the series for the Mixers.
“Crucial talaga yung Game 1 lagi eh,” he said. “Yun yung laging may advantage pag nakuha mo yung Game 1. Di natin maa-assure na yun na ang mananalo pero crucial yun sa series.”
That can be said as speaking from experience, as in their quarterfinal pairing, San Mig also took the first game in their best-of-three encounter with Talk ‘N Text. Though they dropped Game 2, their early win enabled them to get composed and take the do-or-die Game 3 affair to advance to the Final Four.
“Yun yung nakuha namin na experience sa mga series na ganito. Lagi naming napag-uusapan yun na kailangan naming makuha yung Game 1 kasi crucial talaga,” Yap said.
Looking forward to the next few games, the former UE standout said what they need, not only in this series versus Barangay Ginebra but also for the rest of the conference, is their togetherness.
“We need to play as a team. Yun lang yung alas namin,” he said.
“Kailangan pa naming maging consistent sa defense. Ganun yung labanan kasi pag dating naman sa team, when you say San Mig, defense talaga yung first option. Dun nakasentro yung gameplan namin at yun yung kailangan namin para manalo.” (RL)
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