Lee, Yap face former teams as Rain or Shine, Star clash
It wasn’t long ago when the James Yap-led Star and Paul Lee-bannered Rain or Shine fought for championships, tearing limbs for PBA supremacy.
Once cornerstones of those teams, it will be a strange sight seeing the two superstars face off, now for the other franchise, when the Hotshots play the Elasto Painters on Sunday in the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Game time is at 4:30 p.m.
Yap and Lee headlined the biggest trade of the offseason, with their teams engaging in a blockbuster one-on-one deal which sent shockwaves through the league.
Leading the Purefoods franchise to seven titles in his 12-year stay, Yap made it clear that if there’s one game he really looked forward to this season, this is definitely it.
“Ito yung game na tinitignan ng mga tao. Kung pwede ngang panalo na kami, panalo na eh kaso lalaruin pa. Basta ready kami. Sa Rain or Shine, lahat ready. Alam naman ng lahat ng players, ng coaches na big deal sa akin ito and I’m sure na susuportahan nila ako,” he said.
Lee, meanwhile, would like to differ, downplaying the tiff as if it’s just another game.
“Ok lang. Same lang din. Paghahandaan natin yung every game kasi sigurado tayo na maghahanda din sila,” he said.
Rain or Shine has been on a tear lately, with the squad currently at joint first with San Miguel and GlobalPort with a 3-1 slate.
But Star isn’t far behind, banking on a two-game winning streak capped off by its 44-point demolition of Phoenix, 123-79 last week.
As much fanfare as this face off has been generating, the team’s coaches would opt to not look at the storylines but rather focus on improving their own camps.
“Real test for us will be our next games,” said Hotshots coach Chito Victolero. “Right now, maganda ang tibatakbo namin and nage-enjoy and mga players. Hopefully with this win, makatulong yung momentum namin.”
Elasto Painters mentor Caloy Garcia is echoing the same sentiment in his fort, saying, “The difference for us right now is we’re moving the ball better and we’re trusting our ball movement rather than our individual talents.”
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