JAMES YAP ERUPTS FOR 34 AS SAN MIG COFFEE TIES SERIES
JAMES Yap exploded for a personal season-high 34 points and the fire rubbed off on his teammates as San Mig Coffee fashioned a lopsided 106-82 win over Rain or Shine Friday to even up their PBA Philippine Cup semifinals duel at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Yap also had 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the conference, but he said his scoring performance was brought about by remembering a basic thing he does so well.
“Nu’ng Game One masyadong pinahihirapan ko ang basketball, drive ako ng drive,” said the man who scored only 11 points on 3-for-13 field shooting in an 83-91 loss in the best-of-seven opener last Wednesday.
“Naisip ko, parang nakalimutan kong may jumper ako sa labas. Iyun ang ginawa ko sa game na ito,” he added. It was his highest output since scoring 36 on Dec. 26, 2010 in a 91-81 win over Talk ‘N Text in Game 1 of their best-of-7 semifinal in the 2010-11 Philippine Cup.
Yap took just two attempts from beyond the arc in Game One but launched 12 tries and made all but five this time, a career-most for himself. Three of those triples came in the third period where he scored 16 points and helped fully turn the tide in San Mig’s favor.
The difference got stretched to a high of 105-80.
It was not only Yap who redeemed himself but also Joe Devance. After scoring just 12 points in the opener, he had that many in the third period alone and wound up with 17, the same output by Mark Barroca, who also came up with a conference-high.
PJ Simon chipped in 13 points and helped the Mixers put it all together in the second half for a total 68 points, a conference-high for any half by any team, and one which dealt the Elasto Painters their worst defeat under coach Yeng Guiao.
“We made a few adjustments, we shortened our rotation, went with smaller lineups at times, we attacked a lot of the matchups we wanted to attack, as opposed to Game One,” related San Mig coach Tim Cone.
“We were really determined to come in and win the battle of the matchups and then we played a picture-perfrect second half.”
Rain or Shine actually had a fine start and even led by 27-16, late in the first quarter. Then came what Guiao himself termed as a “mental breakdown” that led to his team’s downfall.
Guiao did not help his team’s cause any by getting thrown out for his second technical with still 4:06 left in the third period. He got an earlier technical also for continuous complaining.
“I guess we just got frustrated with the calls and we felt that they were allowing too much contact against us while we couldn’t defend them with the same amount of contact that they were giving us,” said Guiao.
“Iyun ang pinag-umpisahan ng lahat. From there San Mig got their confidence in their offense. It’s a mental breakdown on our part, caused by frustration on the officiating.”
The series resumes Christmas, which, coincidentally, kicks off the daily one-game schedule of the semifinals series up to Dec. 30.
For the combatants, especially Rain or Shine, there’s enough time to make the needed adjustments.
“We will get set for the Christmas Day game,” said Guiao. “We’ll take a break tomorrow but practice Sunday and Monday and watch some videos and films on the mistakes we committed, try to correct them.”
It would surely be mostly on shooting as San Mig made 40 of 79 field tries to Rain or Shine’s 32-for-85 clip.
The Mixers were at their most torrid during the third period, when they made 13 shots and four of their nine misses came from tries from downtown.
Yap’s triple not only gave San Mig the upper hand for good at 52-50, but also sparked an 18-2 assault, before he drained two more for a 75-62 lead going to the final canto. (NC)
The scores:
SAN MIG COFFEE 106 – Yap 34, Barroca 17, Devance 17, Simon 13, Pingris 9, Gonzales 6, Reavis 4, Ramos 3, De Ocampo 3, Pacana 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 82 – Rodriguez 12, Quinahan 12, Chan 10, Cruz 9, Belga 9, Lee 7, Matias 7, Ibanes 7, Arana 5, Norwood 2, Tang 2, Tiu 0.
Quarterscores: 18-27, 38-40, 75-62, 106-82
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
