JIMMY Alapag stakes his undefeated record as NLEX head coach on Tuesday against his former team TNT in the PBA 50th Season Governors’ Cup.
For the very first time in his young PBA coaching career, Alapag will be up against the Tropang 5G, a team he played for 12 out of his 13 years in the league, on Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Drafted at No. 10 in the 2003 draft, Alapag won six championships as a member of Talk ‘N Text, two of those times he won the Finals MVP.
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He was also the MVP in 2011, a year where he also bagged the Best Player of the Conference plum in Commissioner’s Cup.
“Guess we are going to continue with the nostalgia going into Tuesday,” Alapag said after Saturday’s game where he coached for the first time at the Mall of Asia Arena since he came back from the United States.
Alapag’s achievements cemented his place as one of the best players in franchise history, with his jersey No. 3 retired by the ballclub.
Alapag said he looks forward to seeing his former teammates on the other side of the fence who are now either part of the coaching staff or even as a player in Jayson Castro, and assistant coaches Ranidel de Ocampo and Ryan Reyes.
Of the three, Alapag said the one that he had talked to at length since his arrival was De Ocampo. He also ran into TNT coach Chot Reyes for a brief time in his first few days back in the country.
While there would be a lot of nostalgia, Alapag’s major focus is how to win for NLEX against TNT as the Road Warriors seek to complete a first-round sweep of the elimination round in Group A and follow-up on their 119-107 win over Converge last Saturday.
“Obviously, a lot of history there,” Alapag said. “Lots of great memories. Some of the guys while I’m still playing are still there. Obviously, Jayson, Ranidel, and Ryan. (But) we have a job to do for NLEX.”
For his part, Reyes is wary of NLEX with its unbeaten record not an accident with the way they are playing.
“Not only are they unbeaten but they are playing at a very high level,” Reyes said. “Higher than any other team in the league, to be very honest with you. Great job Coach Jimmy is doing there. I’m so proud of the job that he is doing.”
TNT is fresh from a hard-earned 93-89 win over San Miguel with a depleted roster with the Tropang 5G without Calvin Oftana, RR Pogoy, Jayson Castro, and Jordan Heading.
“And again, it’s going to be a huge challenge for us. I hope we can be deserving of going on the same floor with them to compete against them with all the injuries. But, this is going to be a really, really big mountain for us,” said Reyes.
TNT is slowly climbing up the team standings as its second straight win enabled the Tropang 5G to occupy third spot in Group A with a 3-2 win-loss record.
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