Star loses Yap to injury, falls to SMB

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Star was having quite a ride as of late in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup with a three-game winning streak heading into its matchup against San Miguel.

James Yap was having one of those vintage James Yap moments when almost everything he threw from deep went in, making 4-of-6 from the three-point area. But disaster struck when the 34-year-old shooting guard went down with a right calf injury.

Yap’s injury cane in the third quarter and unfortunately for Star, he never returned to the game as the Hotshots fell to the Beermen’s torrential shooting and lost, 117-98.

“Biglang, dun sa may halfcourt pinasa sa akin bola, patakbo ako, then biglang may pumutok, wala na di na ako nakagalaw,” Yap said Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum. “Bigla lang pumutok, ganun talaga.”

Yap finished the game with 17 points in only 26 minutes of play.

He added he was having one of those moments where he’s in the zone, but it ended abruptly as his injury reduced him to a mere spectator, rendered helpless as the Beermen destroyed his team in the second half.

“Masarap na sana feeling, ganun talaga basketball, hindi mo alam mangyayari, so malungkot kasi first time kong ma-feel ang ganito,” Yap said.