JIMMY Alapag's mere presence has given NLEX a big-time confidence boost, according to Robert Bolick.
The star guard said Alapag's credentials which include years of experience as player development coach of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings are enough for the Road Warriors to work even harder in the ongoing PBA 50th Season Governors’ Cup.
“Siyempre, si coach, legend sa PBA, legend pa sa Gilas [Pilipinas], tapos may NBA experience, so ang laking confidence hindi lang para sa akin kundi para sa team,” Bolick said.
“Kami lang ang makakapagsabi na may NBA coach kami. Malaking bagay sa team namin.”
READ: NLEX starts 3-0 under coach Jimmy after drubbing Titan Ultra
NLEX is off to a strong start with Alapag at the helm, winning its first three games against Macau, Terrafirma, and Titan Ultra. A tougher test, however, looms for the Road Warriors when they take on San Miguel as their next assignment on July 26.
NLEX gets on the road
But NLEX isn’t just improving by Alapag’s presence alone, as the former Gilas captain has quickly proven to be a master motivator, even with the X's and O's.
And in Bolick's eyes, their unbeaten start is proof of how the Road Warriors have responded to Alapag.
“Binibigay lang namin best namin every game,” he said. “Si coach, binibigyan niya lahat ng players ng kumpiyansa pagpasok. Kami, confident sa lahat ng tira namin. 'Pag pinapasahan ko ‘yung kasama ko, alam kong may kumpiyansa sila.”
Relationships within NLEX is also one of the things Alapag is focusing on.
“Nung unang pasok ni coach, family-oriented ang gusto niya. Nakikita mo ‘yung samahan namin. Hindi as a team, (kundi) as a family,” Bolick said.
The Road Warriors are coming off a Commissioner's Cup where they finished on top of the elimination round only to see their campaign come to a premature end when they were ousted by eighth-seed TNT in the quarterfinals.
With 'NBA coach' Alapag now calling the shots, though, Bolick is confident this conference could be a different story.
“This conference, nag-usap kami ni coach at ng coaching staff. (Sabi namin), maraming scorers ang team, may import kami, new system kami. Fast-paced kami. Ang ganda namin tignan sa loob, the way we share the ball,” he said.
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