James Yap

In the 66th season of UAAP, Yap led the Red Warriors to the Final Four for the second straight time as he topped his teammates in points and rebounding, and closed second to Artadi in overall efficiency rating.

Eventually in the semifinals series, the Warriors lost to a much more defense-orchestrated team, the Far Eastern University Tamaraws led by tactician coach Koy Banal and star player Arwind Santos.

Nevertheless, Yap was named as the Most Valuable Player from coaches, players, and media votes.

James Carlos Agravante Yap Sr. (born February 15, 1982) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Blackwater Bossing of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Known by his nickname Big Game James, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players to ever play in the PBA.

Beyond sports, Yap is also a politician, serving his first term as a city councilor for San Juan since 2022.

Yap was born in Escalante, Negros Occidental.

As a child, Yap already showed athleticism playing football, baseball, and track and field until high school.

Growing up, he looked up to one of the most prolific players in the history of Philippine Basketball, Samboy Lim.

Yap emerged to be one of the most promising basketball stars in the Iloilo/Negros region back in the late 1990s.

Early on that decade, he played for the Bacolod Tay Tung High School and made his mark.

He was transferred to Iloilo Central Commercial High School, displaying his skills.

Manila Standard.

Along the way, he sparked his team to three consecutive Iloilo PRISAA titles.

Instead, Yap went on to play at the collegiate level where he polished his skills.

He played for the UE Red Warriors under former national team coach Boysie Zamar.

Yap played in the Philippine Basketball League from 2001 to 2004.

In 2001, he played for the ICTSI-La Salle Archers forming a backcourt tandem with Mike Cortez that almost had their team beating the veteran-laden Shark Energy Drink in the finals.

In 2002, known for his quick-release shooting and all-around presence, he, alongside Paul Artadi and Ronald Tubid, brought the Red Warriors to the Final Four after years of absence.

However, second seed University of the East lost to a dramatic semifinal series as they faced the Ateneo Blue Eagles the eventual champions.

Nevertheless, Yap established himself as one of the most prolific scorers averaging more than 20 points per game in just his third year in the league.

In the same year, he led UE to the first Bantay Bata Crossover Cup, exacting a sweet revenge against Ateneo in the Finals.

A month after, he again led UE to the inaugural Collegiate Champions League crown, beating FEU.

In 2002, along with Mark Cardona and Joseph Yeo, he helped put the Archers in the playoffs against the Blu Detergent Kings.

In the same year, he, along with incourt partner Paul Artadi, was teamed up with other UAAP and PBL counterparts to lead the Philippines in the 2003 Southeast Asian Games to a gold medal finish and was eventually honored by Philippines Sportswriter Association as the best basketball player in the amateurs alongside the best player in the professional level, Asi Taulava.

In 2003, he had to sit out the whole conference after ICTSI refused to sign his release papers to make him eligible to play for Sunkist-Pampanga.

The Giants were coming off a disappointing 2003 season, after failing to enter the quarterfinals of the three conferences.

They ended the season with a dismal 9–27 win loss card (a franchise low).

In 2004, Yap signed up for one conference with the Welcoat Paintmasters, teaming up with the comebacking Jojo Tangkay, leading them to a runner-up finish.

He and Tangkay lost to PJ Simon of the Fash team for the MVP plum.

Yap entered the 2004 PBA draft, and was selected as the second overall pick by the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants.

Their best player, Alvin Patrimonio, announced his retirement in November 2004, after playing his entire career with the team.

During his rookie season, Yap mostly came off the bench.

Bothered by an ailing shoulder, Yap had a slow start in the 2004–05 season but later on, he improved as he had numerous games where he scored 20 or more points.

By the end of the season, he averaged 12.48 points per game (ppg), 4.70 rebounds per game (rpg) and 1.03 assists per game (apg) in 26.9 minutes per game (mpg).

However, Purefoods failed to get past the quarterfinal round against the Shell Turbo Chargers.

Despite leading all rookies in scoring, Yap eventually lost to Rich Alvarez in the Rookie of the Year award race.

In the 2005–06 season, Yap received more playing time and began to show more of his abilities as a talented young guard.

In the 2005–06 Fiesta Conference, Yap was 4th in the statistical race, behind at the end of the semifinals series, while the Giants finished 4–2 at the series conclusion.

In the classification round of the 2006 Philippine Cup, the Chunkee Giants finished with a 12–4 record.