ALLAN THE MAN

San Mig Coffee superstar James Yap came out with guns blazing against Rain or Shine Wednesday night, scoring 15 points in the first quarter. He easily broke his tournament high total by the third quarter, and it seemed no one could stop him.

But Elasto Painters defensive specialist Jireh Ibañes was able to get into Yap’s head, and the two-time Most Valuable Player ended up getting ejected. All Yap could do was watch as the Mixers collapsed and yielded to Rain or Shine, 80-79.

Yap was thrown out of the playing court with 2:34 left in the game after nailing Ibañes with a flagrant foul. Earlier in the game, Yap had been assessed a technical foul for second motion on Ibañes. Those two calls merit an ejection under PBA rules.

But while Yap has some regrets about getting ejected at a crucial juncture, he said he also wanted to send a message to Ibañes.

“May parteng pinagsisisihan ko yung ginawa ko, pero may parte ring hindi,” Yap told InterAKTV in an exclusive interview. “Hindi ako nagsisisi dahil gusto kong ipakita na hindi na rin tama yung ginagawa niya. Pero nagsisisi ako sa huli dahil nakalimutan ko may technical foul na pala ako sa first half.”

Before the flagrant foul, Yap had ended up sprawled on the floor after getting hit in the head by Ibañes in the third quarter.

“Tumunog yung buto ko sa may batok sa lakas, then nanghina yung tuhod ko kaya ako bumagsak. Ganoon pala yung feeling noon,” he said.

“Nung palabas na ako, kinamayan ako ni Jireh, pero tinapik ko, not because tinanggap ko yung sorry, but para sabihin na ayusin niya yung laro niya.”

The two men have history. In Game Five of the heated Governors’ Cup finals between the two teams last season, Yap was called for a flagrant foul for a punch on Ibañes, whom he accused of playing him dirty.

“OK lang naman sana kung pisikal lang, pero kung medyo sinasadya na, hindi na maganda yun,” said Yap then.

For now, Yap faces an uncertain fate in San Mig Coffee’s next game.

“First time ko na-thrown out. Hindi ko pa alam kung masu-suspend ako,” said Yap.

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