CHICAGO - Our SPIN.ph colleague Snow Badua first broke the news late Wednesday night.
Golden Boy Jimmy Alapag is set to take over as head coach of the NLEX Road Warriors, according to Snow.
Details on huge stories such as this one often come with various moving parts that create a situation where information is slow to trickle.
READ What's next for Jimmy Alapag as Sacramento stint ends?
But after a spirited use of the cellular phone, thanks to an unlimited minutes plan, here’s what we’ve learned so far.
“Expired na po,” current NLEX coach Jong Uichico told me via text message when asked about his contract status.
Uichico, however, is still “practicing with the team as head coach,” and while he is currently without a contract, the door for a fresh extension appears open.
“We talked na. Kaya let’s wait na lang,” the nine-time PBA champion said, adding that “management has been good to me.”
Meanwhile, a team source told me that while Alapag is indeed heading to NLEX, the former Gilas Pilipinas team captain might initially assume a consultant’s role.
WHiCH MAKES SENSE.
When entering a new house, one must know the lay of the land first before changing the bathroom tiles, tinkering with the decor, and moving furniture around.
Jong didn’t exactly light the PBA on fire in his return to head coaching but he didn’t wet the bed, either.
Under his watch, the Road Warriors were a playoffs fixture who emerged as the No.1 seed in the recently-concluded Season 50 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Losing to eighth-seeded TNT, though, was a bad look that probably explains the management’s hesitance for an extension.
So here comes Alapag, who enters the scene under the bright lights of his stout NBA credentials with the Sacramento Kings.
A new era has dawned at NLEX.
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