James Yap at a loss to explain Star's 1-3 record

MANILA, Philippines – Star Hotshots guard James Yap had no explanation for the team's subpar start in the 2016 PBA Governors Cup that has seen them sink near the bottom of the league standings.

A 100-109 loss to sister team San Miguel Beer dropped the Hotshots to 1-3, tied for the second worst mark in the league along with Phoenix, and just above the winless GlobalPort Batang Pier.

When asked if he can identify the problems that his team is facing, Yap answered shortly: "'Di ko na rin alam."

Yap had 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting against the Beermen, but he was one of the lone bright spots for a Star team that committed a whopping 25 turnovers and had no answers for both June Mar Fajardo and AZ Reid all game long.

"Wala ng magawa," Yap said of their poor record. "Andiyan na, 1-3 na, so move on and bounce back."

(READ: Beermen bully Star to get back on the winning track)

However, when asked what changes needed to be made in order for the team to improve, Yap again said, "'Di ko rin alam" and quickly added that it will be up to their coach.

"Bahala na si coach doon," he said. "Bahala na. Siya na ang bahala doon. Kami naman, sumusunod lang sa kanya."

Star's Justin Melton, who had 14 points in the loss, said the latest defeat was solely due to defensive lapses.

"To defeat a team like (San Miguel), who has shooters everywhere, it's gonna be hard," he said. "No matter how you plan, how you try to execute defensively, it's gonna be tough. They were making those shots, so hat's off to them. We tried what we could in defense."

Star coach Jason Webb, for his part, admitted that they "didn't deserve to win today," especially after a slow start that saw them trail 20-32 after the opening frame.

"We came out there like we were playing back-to-backs," he said. "(We had) no energy. We made a game out of it, but you dig yourself a hole as bad as we dug ourselves in, sometimes, hindi ka talaga makakalabas sa butas na 'yun."

The Hotshots have a two-week break to try and fix the problems hounding the team, and Melton insists he still believes "completely" in Star despite their inconsistent displays so far in the Governors Cup.

"When we were winning championships and (the) Grand Slam, we started off 1-5, 1-6," he pointed out. "It's just a matter of starting to produce Ws. It will come."

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