James Yap undecided on retirement

MANILA, Philippines -- James Yap is still undecided on retirement from the PBA.

“Retirement, wala pa,” Yap told reporters after the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters crashed out of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the hands of the San Miguel Beermen with a 127-122 loss Friday.

Pressed further, Yap was asked if he had made a decision, and he simply said “wala pa.”

Yap signed a one-conference deal with Rain or Shine ahead of the Commissioner’s Cup.

The shooting guard played sparingly this season, suiting up for just three games.

One of the premier scoring guards of the league, Yap averaged just a little below 10 minutes, and just 5.0 points and 1.0 rebounds per game.

This may be due to Rain or Shine’s loaded backcourt lineup, as Yap had to share minutes with Gabe Norwood, Andrei Caracut, Gian Mamuyac, Rey Nambatac and Jhonard Clarito, to name a few.

For his part, Painters head coach Yeng Guiao said that they have not talked about Yap's retirement, but Yap’s role with the team moving forward will be the call of the management.

“We will see what happens but I will have to defer to our bosses regarding James,” he said.

“For me, it will be management’s decision because the problem there is, you will have to choose between giving that slot to a younger guy, even his minutes, or you will give it to him and expect him to produce,” he added.

“It’s also something that we have to evaluate. Is his contribution greater than the possible opportunities for the young guys to improve? There's a tug-of-war there.”

Yap has won a total of seven PBA championships in his career, and was named the Finals Most Valuable Player four times.

He won league MVP twice, and is one of the PBA 40 Greatest Players.

However, Guiao said he is open for Yap to come back to the team for the All-Filipino Cup.

“The All-Filipino conference is less complicated when it comes to rotation of the players, and he already knows All-Filipino,” the coach stressed.