James Yap, Simon-led B-MEG Derby Ace draws first blood anew

James Yap put on a spectacular performance but the biggest shot of the night belonged to PJ Simon, whose three-pointer with 15.1 seconds remaining highlighted B-Meg Derby Ace"s 108-102 victory against Rain or Shine in the opener of the PBA Fiesta Conference quarterfinals series at the Araneta Coliseum Friday.

"James kept us alive the whole game and PJ provided the finishing touches," proclaimed Derby Ace coach Ryan Gregorio, who said he felt good survived the challenge from a "highly athletic" team.

The Llamados blew a 12-point lead in the second quarter then sputtered in the fourth quarter to allow the Elasto Painters to make the game exciting.

Rain or Shine, which also lost Game 1 of its quarterfinal series against the same team in the previous conference, came to life in the final two minutes on successive three-point shots by Gabe Norwood and import Rod Nealy that pulled the Elasto Painters within 102-103 with 82 second to go.

Rain or Shine, which outscored B-Meg Derby Ace 36-8 from the 15-foot line, had a chance to take the lead when veteran Derby Ace guard Roger Yap missed from the perimeter but Nealy threw it away. Instead of going for the high-percentage shot or driving hard to the basket since the Llamados were already in penalty, the 6-foot-6 import went for the ill-advised three and missed.

Simon then cornered the defensive rebound then B-Meg Derby Ace patiently passed the ball around until Roger Yap found the wide-open Simon, who launched the shot over Mercado, who came in late to contest the attempt.

"We gave them [ROS] easily almost 50 free throws& so it"s really a great bailout job for us to be able to win Game 1," said Gregorio.

James Yap turned in a conference-high 31 points on 12 of 18 shooting, a remarkable effort from one who is coping up with marital problems.

"This is the time of year when the basketball court is our sanctuary. I"ve told them once you enter the court you must take away all the distractions. He"s [James Yap] not the only one with problems. But his is well-publicized. So it"s hard not to appreciate the focus of the man. He could shut it off and play the game," said Gregorio in praise of his superstar.

Game 2 of the best-of-five series is set Sunday at the Cuneta Astrodome.

Import Clif Brown scored 17 points and had 10 rebounds but had to sit out the entire fourth quarter due to cramps. His absence didn"t make any difference.

"We know we are the all-Filipino champs and that mindset helped us pull through with this one," said Gregorio whose team also won Game 1 of their quarterfinal series against Rain or Shine en route to winning the Philippine Cup in a game wherein James Yap also had 31 points.

Roger Yap accounted for 16 points and Simon poured 12 of his 14 points in the fourth as the Llamados moved within two wins of advancing to the Final Four.

Nealy scored 30 points and had 16 rebounds for the E-Painters, who shot 37 percent in the first half and trailed by as much as 38-50 late in the second quarter.

Norwood added 24 points and his follow-up slam midway in the third actually shoved the Elasto Painters ahead 66-65.

Rain or Shine still held a 77-74 lead before the Llamados scored the last four points of the third to take the lead for good, 78-77 entering the fourth. (DBC)

- PBA.ph

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