James Yap

James Yap

James Carlos Agravante Yap, Sr. (born February 15, 1982 in Escalante City, Negros Occidental) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the San Mig Coffee Mixers in the Philippine Basketball Association. Yap enjoyed a successful high school basketball career at Bacolod Tay Tung High School and then at Iloilo Central Commercial High School, where he sparked his team to three consecutive Iloilo PRISAA titles. He then went on to play at the collegiate level for the UE Red Warriors and helped the team to the Final Four in 2002 after years of absence. However, the Red Warriors lost to the Blue Eagles, the eventual champions. In the following season of UAAP, Yap led the Red Warriors to the Final Four for the second straight time. Eventually in the semifinals series, the Warriors lost to the Far Eastern University Tamaraws. Nevertheless, Yap was named as the Most Valuable Player in 2003.

Yap also played for the Philippine Basketball League from 2001 to 2004. He decided to declare his eligibility for the PBA Draft, and was selected with the 2nd overall pick in the 2004 PBA Draft by the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants. One of the focal points of the Purefoods offense, he is the 2005–2006 and 2009–2010 season's Most Valuable Player and he is also 2009–2010 Philippine Cup Conference MVP. Yap is also a nine-time PBA South All-Star team starter through 2004 to 2012 and a many-time member of the RP Basketball Team.