FILE PHOTO/Tristan Tamayo
It would’ve been a double celebration for James Yap on Wednesday night.
Not only did Yap have a golden opportunity to win the game for Rain or Shine against NLEX at the buzzer in the first overtime, his 3-pointer that nearly went it would’ve also given him 10,000 career points.
Instead, the Elasto Painters dropped a 122-114 decision in two overtimes and Yap, who was unaware of how near he was to reaching the milestone, was left to rue his potential game-winning triple.
READ: NLEX stays hot, fends off Rain or Shine in 2OT
“I did not know that I was that close,” Yap said in Filipino as he clicked his tongue. “I could only wish that I made it in overtime and we would’ve won and I would’ve been shocked.”
“But it didn’t happen. I wasn’t thinking about getting to 10,000 points either, I just kept playing.”
The 35-year-old Yap was three points away from becoming the first player since Jerry Codiñera in 2001 to reach 10,000 points with still 7:32 remaining in regulation, but he never scored again.
He finished with 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field in a little over 30 minutes of play.
Yap, who is in his first season with Rain or Shine after spending his first 13 seasons with the Purefoods franchise, hopes to pull off the feat on Saturday against Meralco in Antipolo.
“Maybe at Ynares but I will try not to think about it. I only need three points but I could end up not making a shot,” he said laughing. “When you’re close to something, that’s when it gets hard. The more you think about it, the more you don’t get it.”