James Yap. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—James Yap had plenty of reasons to celebrate on Sunday night.
Not only did his team Rain or Shine go up 2-0 in its best-of-seven Philippine Cup semifinals series against Magnolia, Yap also hit another milestone.
The 37-year-old Yap climbed to fourth in the list of all-time career made triples with 1,138 surpassing Dondon Hontiveros (1,137), as per PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon.
“I saw a tweet and I immediately reposted it. I just feel so blessed,” Yap told reporters in Filipino after the Elasto Painters blew out the Hotshots, 93-80, in Game 2 Sunday night at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“I never thought about getting this achievement but it just keeps on coming.”
The seven-time PBA champion came into Game 2 needing just two triples to move past Hontiveros.
But it didn’t seem like he’s going to get it done after missing his first four attempts from long range to go scoreless in the first half.
Despite his early struggles, Yap kept shooting and he eventually found the bottom of the net in the third period.
Yap, widely-considered as one of the best players of his generation, finally eclipsed Hontiveros when he sank his second triple of the game at the 9:34 mark of the fourth quarter that pushed the Painters’ advantage to 23, 82-59.
“It took a while for me to make a basket. In the first half, it kept going in and out,” he recalled.
“Thank you to my teammates for their trust and of course, to the fans. This is for them.”