James Yap and the curse of the superstar

Professional basketball flourishes because of the presence of superstars. These superstars attract the most fans, sell the most tickets, and get the lion’s share of the attention. But being a PBA superstar also has its drawbacks. You want to know what those drawbacks are? Ask San Mig Coffee Mixer James Yap. In every game, Yap faces the toughest defenders in the league. He gets bumped, tackled, shoved, elbowed, and punched more than anyone else, because he is a superstar. In San Mig's grudge match against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters Wednesday (they had lost to RoS in seven games for the 2012 Governors' Cup), Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao served Yap a brutal concoction made up of three parts Jireh Ibanes, one part Ryan Arana, two parts Jeff Chan, and one part everyone else. Yap responded like a true superstar, scoring 15 points early in the game and totaling a game-high 28 points. In the third quarter, Yap and Ibanes got entangled on a rebound play with Yap committing a loose ball foul. Ibanes responded in kind with a well placed forearm that struck Yap’s face and snapped his neck back. “Sobrang na-groggy ako nung natamaan ako,” Yap admitted. “Ngayon ko lang talaga naramdaman yun.” Yap did not appreciate the extra loving he was getting from the Rain or Shine defense. With a little over 2 minutes left in the game, Yap got a chance to exact revenge. He swung his forearm and smacked Ibañes’ face. Whistle. Flagrant foul penalty 1. The San Mig Coffee Mixers were up by four at that point, but a four-point play from Chan and a triple from Beau Belga swung the tide for the Elasto Painters. With the ball in the Mixers’ possession and the chance to win the game at hand in the dying seconds, common sense would tell you that the ball should go to James Yap. But there was a problem: San Mig’s superstar was not on the floor. Because he was assessed a technical foul in the first quarter, the additional flagrant foul meant an automatic ejection.  “Nakalimutan ko na may technical ako,” Yap explained, but it didn’t matter. A F1 call in the PBA comes with a mandated three-minute benching. Yap wasn’t going to get the chance to head back to the court unless the game went to overtime. The only difference the technical made was that he was forced to watch his team lose from the dugout, instead of watching them lose from the bench. After the game was over, after the damage was done, James Yap, arguably the best known Filipino basketball player, had to assume his superstar role again. He posed for pictures with a handful of fans who circumvented the coliseum’s security. The less fortunate ones waited outside the parking area to catch a glimpse of their idol. Yap lowered his window and waved. Did Yap regret committing the foul? “Well, actually may halong hindi, may halong oo,” Yap answered. “Gusto kong ipakita sa kanya na di na tama yung ginagawa niya,” he added. The answer caught me off-guard. I thought all was well between Yap and Ibanes after they exchanged a low five as Yap walked to the dugout. “Kung ang dating nag-sorry ako, hindi ganun,” Yap revealed. “Ang gusto kong sabihin sa kanya ‘ayusin mo yung laro mo.’” This game will not be remembered for that big Belga three or PJ Simon’s miss at the buzzer. It won’t be remembered for Rain or Shine’s gallant comeback or Chan’s four point play. This game will be remembered solely as the game that James Yap lost. That’s the superstar’s curse. The talk of Yap losing his cool and costing his team a win swirled all over Twitter. No one talked about how Ibanes socked Yap on his face. Twitter exploded after Yap returned the favor. While other players might go unscathed after committing a flagrant foul getting ejected, Yap was crucified. “Charge it to experience na lang siguro,” Yap said. He admitted he lost his cool but does not regret what he did. This superstar is, after all, human. - AMD, GMA News