MANILA, Philippines - With James Yap back in his old fiery form, B-Meg Derby Ace is back in the thick of things in the PBA Fiesta Conference.
The one-time MVP, bucking the rigors of participating in a grueling campaign trail, dished out a pair of solid games to lead B-Meg Derby Ace to two straight wins and back in contention in the import-laced conference.
Yap normed 18.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists in the Llamados’ victories over Rain or Shine and Barangay Ginebra to earn the Accel-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week honors for the period May 3 to 9.
Those wins pushed Derby Ace to third spot with a 5-3 win-loss record, behind 8-1 San Miguel Beer and 6-2 Talk n Text.
To see his most prized player come out and dish out his old form is enough for coach Ryan Gregorio, who had praised his team’s continuing splendid efforts on the defensive end but, in as many times, also bewailed their poor offense.
“It is a relief to see him play his usual game,” said Gregorio of Yap, who went into the week averaging just 15.3 points on a measly 32.2 percent field goal shooting.
“I am impressed with the way he was able to focus amidst all the distractions. He scored well in our last two games and resulted to nice victories against quality opponents,” Gregorio said.
The legs absent in Yap’s earlier games in the tournament first sprang back into life when Derby Ace bounced back from a 72-80 loss to SMB the Sunday before with a 75-67 win over RoS last Wednesday.
Yap led all scorers with 20 points on 8-for-19 field shooting in their 75-67 win over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters before following that up with a game-high-tying 17 points, on 6-for-15 field conversion, in a 95-82 win over the Barangay Ginebra Kings.
Now that the elections are over, Gregorio hopes Yap will continue his hot shooting and keep providing the Llamados the much-needed points as they step up their drive for a playoff spot.
“I am glad the campaign is over. Now he can focus all his attention and energy to the game,” said Gregorio.