Before the trio of James Yap, Marc Pingris and PJ Simon came to prominence, the Purefoods franchise in the middle of the 2000s was more recognized for their one-two punch of James Yap and Kerby Raymundo.
Kerby Raymundo actually came from Red Bull and was sent to Purefoods in exchange for a 2003 1st round pick and a 2003 2nd round pick.
That was an awesome trade for Raymundo because he found his footing with Purefoods under coach Ryan Gregorio.
During his stint with the franchise he garnered a Finals MVP award in 2002, and he was thrice recognized as part of a mythical team.
His popularity was also very high during his stint with the blue franchise and he was considered as a co-face of the team.
But in 2012, he was traded to Ginebra in a three-team deal that gave B-Meg JC Intal and a 2nd round pick and Barako Bull received Ronald Tubid, Reil Cervantes and Ginebra’s 2014 second-round pick.
Actually, Kerby was honest during that time, telling reporters that he was the one who asked for that trade because he was a big fan of Ginebra.
Coach Tim Cone echoed that in a podcast called Clutchpoint. He said that he was not the one who initiated the exchange, but it was Kerby's idea.
But he revealed something much deeper and that was, Kerby and James were not getting along at that point. He used the term "disconnect" to describe their relationship.
So, to say that James Yap was the reason for that Kerby trade is not out of the realm of reality because Kerby may have not requested a trade if he was in good terms with James.
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