Things are going to be different for Jimmy Alapag as he plays the role of trying to help prevent his former team TNT KaTropa from winning a championship as an assistant coach of the San Miguel Beermen.
The PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals starts tonight at the Smart Araneta Coliseum will see Alapag on the other side of the fence as a member of Leo Austria’s coaching staff instead of the familiar role of captaining TNT to numerous titles as a player.
Alapag led TNT to six championships and won another during a short stint as team manager to cement his status as arguably the greatest player in franchise history.
“My time with Talk ’N Text speaks for itself,” Alapag said after San Miguel arranged a title showdown with TNT with a 98-95 win over Rain or Shine in Friday’s semifinals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“We had a lot of great memories there in my almost 13 years there with six championships. I’m still very close to the guys on that team – Harvey (Carey), Jayson (Castro), Ryan (Reyes), Kelly (Williams). Been through a lot of wars on the court and been through a lot together off the court. So those guys are family to me,” he added.
Castro, Reyes, the injured Williams and Carey are the only holdovers from the past TNT championship teams that included a streak of three straight Philippine Cup titles from 2011 to 2013.
But at least for the next two weeks, Alapag will focus on denying his former buddies and other key players like Roger Pogoy, Troy Rosario and import Terrence Jones a chance to give TNT its first title since the 2015 Commissioner’s Cup.
“At the end of the day, a job needs to be done. And now that I’m here helping San Miguel, I’ll do what I can to help the coaching staff and the players try and win another championship,” Alapag said. (JONAS TERRADO)
