PJ Simon steals spotlight from James Yap (on the basketball court anyway)

Is James Yap really the best player in the PBA, let alone on his own team, or is he just a solid player spoiled by the showbiz media?

Whenever it comes to the discussion of just how good a basketball Yap is, I've always been on the "hater-ish" side of things simply because I remain unimpressed with the Negros Occidental native. I've seen enough of him in the UAAP to know that he plays good basketball and has good range, but also know that he literally cramps out in the 4th quarter of crucial games.

Also, I would rank Yap a couple of shooters behind the top 2 of the last ten years-- Ren Ren Ritualo and Paolo Mendoza.

Most of Yap's shots are highlight-reel worthy, from shooting threes over his own teammate who set him a solid pick (usually over Canaleta) to nice (and quite rare) dribble drive spin moves. But when it all comes down to it, Yap never comes to me as someone who'd shoot your face off or someone who has that tenacity we Filipinos love in our basketball players (Caguioa, Alapag, Cardona). True enough, Yap is almost on the same pedestal as the aloof Willie Miller as far as attitude towards the game is concerned.

In Yap's first MVP-run, I'd say that Kerby Raymundo was robbed of a one-time MVP award (he hasn't played great since). That season, Raymundo did everything people expected him to do when he entered the league with Yeng Guiao's surprising Red Bull squad. He lived up to his potential-- grabbed rebounds, played defense, developed a nice post-up and mid-range game and so on. But it was Yap who took home the MVP award for some reason-- a feat that was questioned by some, if not most, circles.

Then came last year's MVP award. Joe DeVance posted on Twitter something about how he averaged numbers that mirror Yap's, but knew that he wouldn't even be considered for the annual citation. I checked the stats, and indeed, there were around 5 players who could've been the season MVP easily-- with Kelly Williams and Arwind Santos being two of the shoe-ins, and maybe Jay Washington.

How Yap was adjudged MVP is beyond me quite frankly. And for all the Purefoods/Derby Ace fans who say otherwise, I'm putting my money on Ryan Gregorio simply choosing to call plays for an individual rather than to highlight his team's many strengths on the hardcourt (the same way he's trying to make a megastar our of Macmac Cardona). At this rate, I wouldn't even call Yap clutch and would name about five other shooting guards I'd take over him for a championship, all-or-nothing game (Caguioa, Yeo, Mercado, Cardona and David).

That being said, I'm quite happy to see that new Derby Ace coach George Gallent has shown a liking to one PJ Simon. An original second round pick by Santa Lucia earlier in the decade, Simon has carved out a role for himself as DA's second unit's gunslinger. Someone to bring in the points on a barrage of cuts, curls and jumpers.

What I like about Simon and cannot be said about Yap is the former's fearlessness-- a trait that is an unwritten prerequisite for wannabe superstars or "Jordans." That's why we don't appreciate the Joe Johnsons, we want the Dwyane Wades and Kobe Bryants. That's why Jeff Cariaso went into retirement not being the face of the league despite being one of the earlier skilled Fil-Ams. Because we want big-time, clutch performers. Yap would have his moments from time to time, but you could almost feel that he's just going through the motions from the first to third quarters.

Case in point, when was the last time you felt (for an opposing team's fan) that "Yap was killing your team?" The same way a focused Willie Miller, or a healthy Mark Caguioa would?

This season, Simon's average a bump in minutes and is scoring at a higher clip than Yap (17.5 to 14.88). It should also be noted that he is doing it at a more efficient rate, averaging 1.12 TOPG in 30 minutes as compared to Yap's 1.88 in 34.

But beyond all the statistics, there's also a difference in how both players have approached this season's "no harm, no foul" rules. Yap has often "settled" for jumpers and deep threes, while Simon continues to drive and create contact. Blame it on Simon wanting to prove himself to Gallent, Yap's "nose injury"  which is in no way, shape or form even basketball related (it's not like he broke his nose otherwise it would've been all over the news as always by now), or Coach Gallent wanting to make the most out of the other 14 players at his disposal-- but one thing's for real, and that's PJ Simon's can play.