YENG Guiao sees some silver lining in Rain or Shine's 105-87 blowout loss against Meralco at the start of the PBA Governors' Cup.
And it goes by the name of James Yap.
Returning from an almost two-year absence, the two-time MVP lighted up the scoreboard for the Elasto Painters in the first half, including a stretch in the second quarter where he reminded basketball fans inside the Philsports Arena how good of a player he once was.
"Kung merong positive sight to this loss, its maybe James' game. He's able to comeback," Guiao noted.
The 40-year-old Yap played his first game for the franchise Sunday since the 2021 Philippine Cup at the Bacolor bubble after recovering from a strained calf injury, and opting to run for public service where he eventually won a council seat in the City of San Juan.
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Despite the long absence, he hardly showed rust and scored 12 points in the first half, including a long three-pointer to beat the second quarter buzzer that knotted the count at 54 during halftime.
Yap finished with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor in 14 minutes of action.
"It was a good sign for James. In the last six-minute stretch (of the second quarter), I think he scored 12 points. And that's a good sign for us," said Guiao.
"That means we can have another guy coming off the bench who can score and be a threat."
Yap was signed by the franchise for the rest of the season. (RG)
