Throughout his career, James Yap has always been a poster boy.
He was the undisputed face of the PBA in the early part of his career, winning two MVPs in 2006 and 2010 as part of the Purefood franchise.
And even when he was traded to Rain or Shine in 2016, he remains a presence in the league despite his diminished role.
This positive notoriety that Yap has built in his 14-year career has always made him a crowd darling, but that doesn’t mean he will hesitate to play the role of the villain.
The Elasto Painters are set to face Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, arguably the most loved franchise in the PBA, in the Commissioner’s Cup semifinals and Yap is ready to wear his cloak of antagonism.
“Whenever you face Ginebra, you always go up against six people and that includes the fans,” said Yap in Filipino Thursday at Mall of Asia Arena after Rain or Shine sunk Globalport, 103-97, in the quarterfinals rubber match.
“I think I’ve said this before, Ginebra is so fun to beat because there are so many people who will hate you.”
Yap is no stranger to breaking the hearts of the Ginebra fateful. He did that several times in the past including two playoff series in the 2012 Commissioner’s Cup and 2014 Philippine Cup where Purefoods ended up taking the championship.
This time, however, Yap is carrying a new team for the first time in the semifinals and he is still excited to face his old nemesis in the playoffs.
“So it will be love, love, love for me and coach Caloy [Garcia] because this will be the first time for us,” said Yap who had a season-high 27 points in the game against the Batang Pier. “I’m sure coach Caloy is happy, and so am because we’re in the semifinals because when I got here the farthest we’ve come is the quarterfinals.”