The Final Score: The more Joseph Yeo plays, the more he becomes 'pang-Ginebra'

 

The man who just launched a pull-up three-point shot was an anxious wreck before the season started. Upon learning that he was headed for always-stacked Barangay Ginebra san Miguel, his fifth team in eight years, he probably shook his head, rolled his eyes, and muttered, “Not again.” 

 

He didn’t wish to sit on the bench, praying for maybe three minutes of playing time, wondering if those precious three minutes will be all the playing time he’ll have for the game, or the conference, or the season, or ever. He had been in that predicament before. He doesn’t want to plunge back into that predicament again. 

 

Joseph Henry Yeo strikes me as a straight shooter. Not a straight shooter as in shoot lang nang shoot, although he appears to have the green light to do that now after shooting 5-of-8 three-pointers against Purefoods last Sunday and shooting 5-of-8 three-pointers for the second straight game when Ginebra beat Barako Bull on Wednesday night. 

 

He’s a straight shooter in terms of transparency. He doesn’t seem to have a poker face. You know if he’s thrilled. You know if he’s dismayed. Like he has little use for cryptic tweets. Kung gusto, gusto. Kung ayaw, ayaw. Subtlety? Ano yun? Irony? Ano yun? 

 

While such an approach can put people on edge, it can also be endearing. He looks like he’s unable to dispense BS. 

 

Hence, the way he conducts himself mirrors the way he plays – straight to the point. No BS-offense. If you’re open, shoot. If you see a driving lane, drive. He plays like a guy who has never seen an And-1 Mixtape highlight package before. He doesn’t believe in making elaborate moves before making an actual move. 

 

Porma doesn’t happen before performance. Porma never counts for performance. Performance is all that matters. To score, go straight to the point.

 

But then, going straight to the point as a Ginebra scoring guard has never been easy. Sharing the position with Mark Caguioa is like trying to share lead vocal duties with Mick Jagger for the Rolling Stones. You either have the talent and personality to break through, or you realize how unforgiving it is to share a role with a walking legend. 

 

I think about Willie Miller. I think about Ronald Tubid. To this day, I feel that red-white-black Ginebra jersey never fit Miller as effortlessly as it should have. Tubid, on the other hand, that gregarious spirit who treats every rebound like the ultimate performance art, is firmly part of Ginebra lore. 

 

It’s natural. Some players never feel at home, or at least they don’t look like they feel at home, with Ginebra. Some players appear to have been born with Ginebra DNA. I try not to blame players for how stints turn out. There are too many factors to consider. Different times. Different contexts. 

 

Yeo averaged just six points in his first four games. He increased his average to 17 points in his last 2 games. Is he getting more comfortable having the Ginebra name on his chest? I think he’s getting more comfortable taking 22 shots in the last two games. I think he’s trying to become more than just a passing tourist in Ginebra-land. He’s working hard to become a permanent resident.

 

I still link Miller with Alaska and Tubid with Ginebra. Which team will I link Yeo with? His stay with San Miguel/Petron feels like it happened even before his stints with Sta. Lucia and Coca Cola. 

 

Like it happened way back in 1993 when Ronith Ang was still the courtside reporter of the PBA. I miss Ronith Ang. 

 

Like, unless you dutifully followed Air 21 games last season, pre-Ginebra Yeo is all but a hazy memory. In a way, Yeo, in 2014, has the chance for permanent team-and-name association. 

 

If you cut Yeo’s arm, will Ginebra blood come out? Hindi pa siguro. But I can’t help but see a Tubid-ness in Yeo’s current role. No hesitation. No regrets. No backing down. If I have to share the stage with Jagger, so be it. Straight to the point. That has to be a good sign, right? 

 

The man who launched a pull-up three-point shot wasn’t as anxious about playing time anymore. As he watched the ball travel to the basket, backpedalling as a form of shooter’s body English, he felt a different kind of anxiety: the pressure to keep scoring, the pressure to keep winning. That was good. It was the kind of anxiety he wanted.

 

The ball went in. It was a three-point shot. Yeo gave Ginebra a 21-point lead over Barako Bull. It happened right in front of the Ginebra bench. He turned to his right ready to go down on defense. But he was mobbed by teammates (oh it must have felt so good to be mobbed than to always do the mobbing) along the sideline. 

 

A teammate wearing a black headband rose from the bench and quickly wrapped Yeo, who was three steps out of bounds, in a playful embrace. It was Caguioa. As Yeo contained his glee, as Caguioa hugged and hopped to congratulate a hot-shooting teammate, a newcomer’s earlier fears faded away. Caguioa, grinning from ear to ear, finally pushed Yeo back onto the court. — JST, GMA News