Not Big Game James for nothing: Yap’s resurgence in full display in Rain or Shine’s hot start

Vintage performance from James Yap saves Rain or Shine. PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines—James Yap is called Big Game James for reasons.

The charismatic shooting guard is a two-time league MVP, four-time Finals MVP, and seven-time champion and these are thanks to no small part to his gutsy self in late-game situations.

At 36, Yap once again displayed that he’s still one of the best shooting guards in the league, drilling a clutch triple in Rain or Shine’s 107-100 win against NorthPort in the PBA Philippine Cup Friday at Mall of Asia Arena.

Down 100-99 in the final minutes of the fourth, Yap came off a curl in the right win and calmly drained a three-pointer in the face of Batang Pier guard Paolo Taha that gave the Elasto Painters a 102-100 lead with 2:50 left.

Yap joked that his big shot was simply just another normal basket for him.

“That’s normal for me,” said Yap laughing.

“I just had a chance to have the ball at that stage so I just shot it and it went in. That’s the game of basketball.”

Yap finished with 19 points, on 6-of-9 shooting from deep, three rebounds, five assists, and two steals as the Elasto Painters improved to a second-best 5-1 record behind undefeated Phoenix, which holds a 5-0 card.

The 15-time All-Star is also Rain or Shine’s leading scorer averaging 16.3 points a game but he said that it’s not just him who’s solely responsible for his offensive ourburst.

“All I can say is I fit right in with the system, my game really just fell into our system,” said Yap. “Of course I have huge thanks to coach Caloy [Garcia] because of the trust he’s given me. Even before the start of the conference he’s told me that I should be ready and it’s a good thing I was able to produce.”