EVEN a two-time Most Valuable Player in James Yap knows exactly he can’t do it by his lonesome if Derby Ace is to get past top seeded Talk `N Text in their PBA Philippine Cup semifinals series.

And so he expects help to come by when Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is played on Jan. 5 at the Araneta Coliseum.

Yap specifically singled out backcourt partner Peter June Simon to go out battle-ready for the
all-important match after struggling with his shots in the series opener, which the defending
champions lost, 98-91.

Simon is to James, what Robin is to Batman, afterall.

“Nag-usap na kami ni PJ. Sinabi ko na kaming dalawa na ito. Kaya mag-tulungan na kami dito,”
said Yap, reflecting on that Game 1 setback to the Tropang Texters just a day after Christmas.

Not minding an aching hamstring and a stiff back, `Big Game James’ exploded for a conference-high 36 points, including a 10-of-14 stint from the foul line, as he led a big Llamados comeback from 19-points down and gave Talk `N Text a big scare going home.

But the rally fell short and left the Llamados trailing 0-1 in the series.

Simon didn’t do too badly during the game, complementing Yap by scoring 14 points on 4-of-12
shooting from the field. But those numbers were only half of what he did during Derby Ace’s
quarterfinals series with Meralco when he averaged 29 points in the two-game sweep, including 35 big points in the 106-97 double-overtime win in Game 1.

“Pero knowing PJ, alam ko babawi yan the next game,” he said of the high-scoring guard, who
once beaten him for the MVP trophy of the Philippine Basketball League (PBL)

He also counts on veteran guard Roger Yap to be back in the lineup by the next game, the week-long holiday break enough for him to recover from his injury.

“Malaking bagay kasi si Roger, pang-intimidate kay (Jimmy) Alapag,” said James. Without Roger Yap, Alapag poured in a team-high 20 points and completed a rare four-point play in the final 2:07 that allowed the Tropang Texters to take full control of the match.

The Llamados, bidding to become the first team in 25 years to repeat as champions in a conference without imports, plunge into practice on the last two days of 2010, take the break on New Year’s Day, and then resume training in the gym the following day.