JAMES Yap is living up to his tag as a lethal weapon, even
though is walking wounded.
Despite nursing knee and groin injuries, the former Most
Valuable Player stood out from the rest, prompting the PBA Press Corps to name
him as its Smart Accel- Player of the Week for Feb. 4-10.
It was the fourth such recognition for Yap, who was
previously cited on Oct. 14-21, Nov. 19-25, with Red Bull’s Junthy Valenzuela
and Dec. 31 to Jan. 6, with Sta. Lucia Realty’s Kelly Williams.
He delivered because of an unflagging mind-set to do his best
for his Purefoods team.
"Ang katwiran ko kasi, kung kaya namang maglaro, bakit hindi?"
explained Yap a day after scattering 28 points to lead the Giants to an 83-71
win over the Bulls last Sunday. The victory enabled the Giants to wrap up the
semifinals series, four games to three, and sent them to the finals of the Smart
Philippine Cup.
That scorching performance came after he poured in 25 points
in a close 96-95 escape in Game 5 despite a strained groin he suffered after
favoring his left knee that was badly bruised the Sunday before.
"Kailangang-kailangan kasing manalo kaya ibinuhos ko na. Alam
ko namang it will all be worth it," he said.
"It’s amazing to see a player rise to the challenge even
after an injury," said Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio. "His amazing performances
in Games 5 and 7 propelled our entry to the finals."
The ironic thing is, he came up with his best scoring
performance when he was supposed to be running on vapors after playing too many
minutes and too hard in the series, as Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao had quipped.
"Just when people thought that he might have ran out of gas,
he surprises everybody with an amazing display of basketball skills in the most
important game of the conference," Gregorio gushed.
Purefoods is now gunning for a fifth crown in the conference
formerly dubbed as the All-Filipino. If successful against Sta. Lucia in the
best-of-seven finale that starts Friday, the Giants will tie the now-defunct
Crispa Redmanizers’ record of five A-F crowns.
That is now Yap’s target.
"Baka kasi mahirapang maulit na kaya ibubuhos na naman ang
makakaya," said the MVP of the 2005-06 season.
For the moment, he intends to savor the win and heal his
injuries for a bigger reason.
His wife, actress Kris Aquino, celebrates her birthday on
Valentine’s Day and he turns 26 the day after.
"Parang birthday gift na rin sa amin kapag nanalo sa Game 1," he said.
