JIMMY Alapag should have been working in the NBA G League as an assistant coach by now had the Sacramento Kings' G League affiliate decided to participate in the developmental league's bubble next month.
The 2011 PBA MVP told Call to Arms with Nikko Ramos of the missed opportunity as he would have landed his biggest coaching break since his family migrated to the United States back in September.
Alapag shared that it was 12-year NBA veteran and current Kings assistant coach for player development Bobby Jackson who reached out to him, asking him to come on board once he takes over the G League team Stockton Kings.
"He was reaching out to me because if everything works out he wants me to join him on the staff as one of the assistants," the former champion coach of San Miguel Alab Pilipinas recalled.
Alapag is no stranger to the Kings, working as an assistant coach in the 2019 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
Not one to pass up an opportunity, Alapag's answer was pretty obvious.
"To say I was excited is an understatement. I was kind of freaked out because one, Bobby Jackson is calling me. And two, he was telling me he wants to have me in the staff," he said.
Unfortunately, Stockton begged off from participating in this season as only 18 teams will enter the NBA G League bubble in Orlando.
"Similar to what happened in the NBA in Orlando where they could not accommodate all the NBA teams, they could not accommodate all the G League's 28 teams in the bubble in Orlando," the former Gilas Pilipinas skipper said.
"Ultimately, the ownership decided to skip out on the G League season this year because it's only going to be a four to five-week season. Obviously, everybody has been affected because of the pandemic and things didn't pan out."
It also meant that Jackson's offer to Alapag will have to be sidetracked for the meantime.
But that doesn't mean that his road to the NBA has already closed.
Alapag shared that he remains in communication with the Sacramento brass and is hopeful that soon enough, he will land a coaching job there, may it be with the Kings or elsewhere.
"I'm still in touch with them and in the meantime, continue to network and do my part to just watch the video and stay connected to the game and see what happens," he said.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
