By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Negrense guard James Yap was being bothered by knee issues as a result of his scoreless outing in Rain or Shine Elasto Painters’ 87-83 upset over San Miguel Beermen in the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup.

Painters head coach Carlos Garcia said that the Escalante City, Negros Occidental-native forced himself to play despite not joining the team practice for a week due to tightness in his left knee.

“Puro therapy ‘yung ginawa niya. He wasn’t able to practice the last seven days,” Garcia said. “I asked him before the game if he wants to play, and he said he wants to play. Subukan daw niya.”

“Kita naman siguro kulang lang ‘yung legs niya. We tried to get him to score, but today wasn’t for him,” added Garcia on Yap, who missed all six of six shots from the field in 11 minutes of play.

Garcia, however, is optimistic that the two-time PBA MVP awardee will be healthy enough to play for the Painters as they gun for a 2-0 lead when they face TerraFirma Dyip this afternoon at the AUF Sports Arena & Cultural Center in Pampanga./ASC, WDJ