PBA (Philippine Basketball Association) superstar and Purefoods Giants guard James Yap issued a public apology to basketball fans after getting involved in a near on-court free-for-all brawl last Wednesday night, July 9, during a game against Talk 'N Text held at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The incident happened in the early goings of the fourth quarter after Purefoods's Jondan Salvador and TNT import Terrence Leather got involved in a physical post-up play. Leather apparently was not pleased by the contact, throwing the ball to Salvador after exchanging a few words. Yap got involved after kicking Leather during the altercation. The replay showed a raging Leather chasing Yap while being pacified by teammates and game officials.
"Nangyari kasi, nabato si Jondan ng bola, so natural lang na gugustuhin kong depensahan at ipagtanggol ang teammate ko," explained James to ABS-CBN News in an interview.
The former University of the East Red Warriors standout, however, owned up his ill behavior by saying, "Pero inaamin kong mali ‘yong ginawa ko at humihingi ako ng patawad sa mga fans ko. Di magandang example ‘yun."
Aside from the three mentioned players, Purefoods Enrico Villanueva, Robert Sanz, and Talk N' Text Ali Peek were all slapped with technical fouls for participating in the scuffle. Talk N' Text won the game, 98-83, despite the ejection of Leather following the incident.
Leather likewise issued an apology to the league and the entire Purefoods organization for losing his temper.
Notorious for his volatile temper, Leather also had an altercation in the past against Air 21's Homer Se and Ginebra's Chris Alexander and comedienne Ethel Booba's ex-boyfriend Alex Crisano.
Yap, on the other hand, rarely got himself into trouble although he was suspended by league officials last February after hitting Sta. Lucia's Joseph Yeo in the face during the closing minutes of Game 3 of the PBA Finals. Because of the sanction, Yap was barred from playing in Game 4 of the best-of-seven series, aside from being meted a P20,000 fine for his unsportsmanlike conduct.
The native of Escalante, Negros Occidental, was being touted as one of the futures of local basketball even before his foray into the professional league. Yap joined the PBA as a rookie in 2004 when he was drafted by the Purefoods TJ Hotdogs as the second overall pick. James powered Purefoods to the championship in the 2006 Philippine Cup Finals. He also bagged his first PBA Most Valuable Player trophy that same year.
Raising James's public profile even more is his marriage to actress-host and former presidential daughter Kris Aquino with whom he has a son named James Yap Jr.