MANILA – Negrense guard James Yap is good to go for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters when the Philippine Basketball Association’s (PBA) Philippine Cup resumes on Sept. 1, at Don Honorio Ventura State University in Bacolor, Pampanga.
The Escalante City, Negros Occidental-born cager returned to the team’s 5-on-5 basketball practices for the first time in eight months, according to Painters head coach Chris Gavina.
“James Yap has been diligently working double-time to try to get himself physically and mentally prepared to thrust himself back into game mode. We will slowly allow James to gain his stamina, rhythm, and chemistry with his teammates back as we move along this week,” Gavina told Sports 5.
The 39-year-old Yap, a two-time PBA Most Valuable Player, missed the Painters’ first six games of the all-Filipino conference after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee during the offseason.
He was already on his road to full recovery when the PBA halted its games due to the imposition of the enhanced community quarantine in the National Capital Region.
In the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup, Yap, who is in the final year of his three-year deal with the Elasto Painters, had career-low averages of 7.10 points and 2.10 rebounds in ten games.
Apart from the Ilonggo, Gavina also revealed that sophomore forward Vince Tolentino and rookie guard Anton Asistio are recovering well and may join the team for the PBA restart.
“The positive effect of this break is it allows our players who were nursing injuries to get back to full health, but losing game rhythm is no easy thing to recover from,” Gavina said. “We just have to stay committed to how we can regain our peak form.”
The Painters opened the All-Filipino conference with a three-game winning streak before losing their two next games. Prior to the PBA postponement, they had won their last match, giving them a 4-2 win-loss record./PN
