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PBA: Yap scores 34 as San Mig draws even with Rain or Shine


James Yap (L) expoded for 34 points, 16 in the third, as his San Mig Coffee Mixers bounced back to even their series against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. KC Cruz

(Updated 7:44pm) James Yap didn't seem like a person who suffered a hyper-extended knee two days ago.

Yap was a relentless scoring machine, especially in the breakaway third period, drowning the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters with a total of 34 points, as the San Miguel Coffee Mixers prevailed, 106-82, Friday, in game two of their PBA Philippine Cup semifinals series at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

[Check out the play-by-play of this game here]

Yap bounced back from his 11-point performance in game one, scoring 16 alone in the third quarter, in addition to picking up 10 rebounds. He connected on 7-of-12 from downtown to help equalize the best-of-seven series between the two teams.

"Simpleng basketball lang ang ginawa ko," said Yap, who relied mostly on jumpers to score in the game.

"We got a lot of match-ups that we wanted," said San Mig Coffee head coach Tim Cone after the game. "Yeng was the master of the match-ups in game one, [and] I felt so out-coached. I felt really determined to come back in this game."

In the first quarter, San Mig Coffee were stonewalled around the basket. On the other end of the court, the Elasto Painters stormed out to an early 17-10 lead, thanks to good ball movement and three-pointers from Ronnie Matias, JR Quiñahan and Paul Lee.

Rain or Shine tried unsuccessfully to add to their total via several shots in transition, but the Mixers couldn't take advantage of the drought. The Elasto Painters then connected twice anew from beyond the arc, courtesy of Jireh Ibanez and Beau Belga, to give them a 27-18 lead after the first period.

In the second quarter, Wesley Gonzales came off the bench to help cut the Rain or Shine lead to five, 29-24, only for Jeff Chan to reply with a pair of pull-up jumpers to push his team's advantage back up to nine.

San Mig Coffee rallied midway through the quarter as players began converting from their comfort spots on the floor. A James Yap triple highlighted nine unanswered points for the Coffee Mixers, a run capped by a PJ Simon post-up play to draw within one, 33-32.

Ryan Arana scored five of the Elasto Painters' next seven as they tried to stave off the Mixers. But Mark Barroca led the way with his playmaking, as the Coffee Mixers closed the gap to two, 40-38, by halftime.

Rain or Shine managed just 13 points in the second quarter, with San Mig Coffee closing the last 6:13 minutes of the first half on a 14-7 blast. Yap already exceeded his game one total by the break, managing 13.

When play resumed, Larry Rodriguez held down the fort for Rain or Shine as he scored six of his team's first 10. However, they were overmatched by a rejuvenated Mixers squad. Joe Devance was actively seeking the hole, and dropped 10 points in the first four minutes of the third. A Beau Belga drive put RoS back on top, 50-49 at the eight-minute mark, but the Mixers stormed ahead for good on a 15-2 run, to lead 64-42, 4:19 left.

The Elasto Painters' woes grew as head coach Yeng Guiao picked up his second technical foul at the 4:06 mark and was forced to leave the court. The Mixers converted on the technical free throw, then Devance added another bucket shortly after to extend their advantage to 15 points, 67-52, with under four minutes to play.

Rain or Shine recovered with under three minutes to play as they took advantage of lazy transition defense to cut the lead down to single digits, 69-60. But a pair of triples by Yap in the final 40 seconds, including one at the buzzer, gave San Mig Coffee momentum heading into the payoff period, 75-62.

Yap and Devance scored all but nine of San Mig Coffee's 37 points in the third quarter, with Devance accounting for 12.

The two sides continued to exchange scores in the fourth, as Rain or Shine simply couldn't contain the guards of San Mig Coffee. Yap, Simon and Barroca continued to shake off their defenders with their quickness and long jumpers, killing the hopes of an Elasto Painters comeback.

The lead peaked at 25 points, 105-80, off a three-ball by Aldrech Ramos with just over a minute to play.

Paul Lee was the missing element for Rain or Shine. The sophomore guard had scored nine points in the fourth quarter of Game One, en route to 15, but he had just seven total in this game.

Game three is set for Christmas day, at the SM MOA Arena. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

SMC 106 - Yap 34, Barroca 17, Devance 17, Simon 13, Pingris 9, Gonzales 6, Reavis 4, Ramos 3, De Ocampo 3, Pacana 0

ROS 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

Quarter scoring: 18-27, 38-40, 75-62, 106-82
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