James Yap takes leave of absence from PBA

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

James Yap will not compete in the upcoming PBA season as he will be seeking a government post in the city of San Juan.

The councilor aspirant confirmed that he will pause for a while from playing basketball to focus more on his campaign with only several months left before the 2022 elections.

“Ako ay taos pusong nagpapasalamat sa aking ROS family – sa owners, management, coaches, teammates at iba ko pang mga kasamahan sa kanila. Sa PBA, at sa board of governors sa paghintulot sa aking temporary leave of absence sa darating na conference,” Yap said.

Yap was one of the focal points of the Rain or Shine offense during the recently concluded all-Filipino conference.

Turning back the hands of time, the ever reliable and former PBA MVP showed the league that he can still score anytime in any situation.

One of his highlights in the bubble was their elimination game against the Magnolia Pambansang Manok when he hit a different array of difficult shots including a half-court hail mary heave and a series of fade away one-handlers.

Yap averaged 7.9 points and 2 rebounds and was able to don the uniform of Rain or Shine seven times as he was still nursing an injury at the start of the season.

“Samahan niyo po ako sa aking pagtahak ng bagong daan para maka-contribute sa bagong paraan ng pagtulong at pagsilbi sa aking mga kababayan sa unang distrito ng San Juan,” Yap added.