Amateur Career
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. It was now rumored that the Negros Slashers of the now-defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association was going to sign Yap.
Instead, Yap went on to play at the collegiate level. He played for the UE Red Warriors under former national team coach Boysie Zamar. 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 de Manila University 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 once again led UE to the inaugural Collegiate Champions League crown, beating FEU.
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. 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.
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, along with Mark Cardona and Joseph Yeo, he helped put the Archers in the playoffs against the Blu Detergent Kings. 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. 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 Peter June Simon of the Fash team for the MVP plum.
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