Yap big loss for Shark — Austria

Despite admitting that Shark will never be the same again minus Roger Yap, coach Leo Austria remained confident that his charges will still have enough bite left when they compete in the PBL Chairman’s Cup scheduled to start March 24 at the Makati Coliseum.

"Roger Yap will truly be missed in the lineup because in the past, our defense and offense work around him. That’s why his departure will really create a big vacuum in our game," said Austria in yesterday’s PSA Forum at the Holiday Inn Manila.

Austria, who led Shark to a remarkable come-from-behind victory over highly-favored Welcoat in the recent Challenge Cup finals, said it’s now time for his other players to step up and help the team remain competitive and fearsome as its name suggests.

"I’m really hoping that my player will now step up and try to fill in the void left by Roger Yap’s departure," added Austria, who was joined in the forum by team owners Raul Panlilio and Dioceldo Sy, team manager Jessie Chua and the players.

Austria, the 1985 top rookie in the PBA, is now pinning his hopes on standouts Chester Tolomia, Gilbert Malabanan and Rysal Castro as the team shoots for a big followup to its recent title quest that came in Shark’s maiden season in the PBL.

"There will be a lot of adjustments in our part but I’m really hoping that with added playing time for this players, their level of confidence will also rise. We have to prove that we can also work without Roger Yap," said Austria.

Yap, a 6-foot-1 guard-forward, played a major role as the Power Boosters, who were swept by the Paint Masters in the best-of-seven finals of last year’s Chairman’s Cup, recovered from a 0-2 deficit to beat Welcoat in seven games.

Named the finals MVP, Yap is now all set to make his pro debut with Purefoods. He is expected to see action today when the Hotdogs go up against Sta. Lucia Realty in the All-Filipino Cup at the Philsports Arena.

"Malaking kawalan talaga siya dahil sa defense, kaya niyang pigilin ang stars ng ibang teams. At itong mga stars na ito, hindi naman nila kaya pigiling si Roger pagdating sa opensa," added Austria. "Ganyan kalaki ang posisyon na mawawala sa amin."

The Shark mentor said the team has yet to decide who among those in the present lineup will be retained. "Because of the coming dispersal draft, we can only protect 10 of the 16 players we have in the team right now," said Austria.

Also appearing in the forum sponsored by Red Bull, Agfa and McDonald’s were Alex Cureg and Leopoldo Daz, Sr. of the Rotary Club of Diliman, Quezon City, the host of this year’s Rotarympics set to unfold Feb. 24 and reserved for the country’s special athletes.

This year’s Rotarympics, to be staged in cooperation with Philspada, will also have judo competitions for the visually-impaired athletes aside from competition in track and field, wheelchair basketball, soccer, volleyball and goal ball.

Action in the 21st staging of the Rotarympics will start at 7 a.m. at the Philsports Arena (formerly ULTRA) in Pasig.