Yap respects Garcia’s decision to limit his minutes in OT loss
Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Known as a relentless competitor, it was a tough pill to swallow for James Yap to be benched late in the game in Rain or Shine’s 107-101 defeat to San Miguel in Friday.
The two-time PBA Most Valuable Player only played 12 minutes and finished with three points in a game where the Elastopainters lost a six-point lead late and withered in overtime.
He believes that coach Caloy Garcia opted to go for his old reliables more during those crucial moments.
“Diskarte ni coach. Siguro baka bago pa ako at yung sistema sa ngayon, mas may tiwala pa siya sa mga old players niya pagdating sa end game,” he said. “For me, it’s ok. Diskarte nya, walang problema sa akin.”
There’s no denying what Yap can bring to the table, and he believes he could have contributed for the squad had he been on the floor during the clutch.
“Masarap sana pumasok pero syempre, I respect yung diskarte niya. Sayang nga kasi panalo na eh,” he said.
Garcia explained that Yap’s minutes suffered with other guards like Chris Tiu, Jericho Cruz, and Maverick Ahanmisi playing superb, earning them minutes in those crucial stages.
“I was looking to run and wanted to try to get San Miguel tired, and since we were playing well – Gabe (Norwood) was playing the three and four position just to change the tempo of the game – it was working. So I just stuck to the people who were really working hard on both sides,” he said.
Garcia cleared that it was no dig at Yap, saying he wants the veteran guard “more involved in the next game.”
Yap understands his situation, knowing he still has to blend in with his new crew.
“Equal oppurtunity kasi sa team na ito, so for me, I didn’t expect na mag-35 minutes a game ako dito. Kailangan ready ako at kailangan tanggapin ko yun kasi nananalo naman ang team. Ayoko naman sirain yung sistema nila kapag nag-demand ako ng playing time. Kailangan ako yung mag-adapt sa sistema,” he said.
Like Garcia, Yap is looking at this defeat as a way for the Elasto Painters to show their resiliency as they look to rebound next Friday against Meralco.
“Dito mate-test yung character ng team, kung paano kami mag-bounce back,” he said.
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