Jimmy Alapag is the new head coach of NLEX in the PBA. Handout/NLEX Road Warriors.MANILA – It's all about uplifting his players and building on the previous gains of the NLEX Road Warriors for new head coach Jimmy Alapag.
The six-time PBA champion and Gilas Pilipinas legend has been with the team for over a week now as it squeezes in preparations for the PBA Season 50 Governors' Cup.
After meeting the team during its tuneup game last Tuesday, Alapag said there was an overall great vibe and reception from the NLEX players.
For the first-time PBA head coach, he hopes the team's positivity and competitiveness are good signs heading into the season-ending conference.
"I was able to have conversations with the players. I'm just excited to get to work. Obviously, malapit na yung start of the Governors' Cup. We have roughly ten days or so. So medyo ipit yung time. But I'll do my best," Alapag said during the press conference last week arranged by VP Global Management.
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"I thought it [the mood] was great. They looked excited. I hope that's a great sign. But I thought this morning, I told them before the game, their competitive spirit was at a high level for a tuneup game. And I think that's the first battle. Before we get to the X's and O's, your competitive spirit. I think us as Filipinos, it's natural for us. So I just wanna bring that out in all of them. I think everything else will take care of itself," he added.
Alapag is taking the reins of an NLEX team that finished as the top seed in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner's Cup elimination round with a 10-2 win-loss record.
The ‘Mighty Mouse’ credited previous head coach Jong Uichico and his coaching staff for steering NLEX to that impressive finish.
But for the new head coach, the Road Warriors have to take the lessons they learned from the previous conference and build on those gains.
"That was really my message to them. I thought they had a great elimination round. Unfortunately, things didn't work out in the quarterfinals. But my message to them was, I don't care what happened in the quarterfinals. I think it's important for us, together with the rest of the staff, to start building on their success in the elimination," Alapag said.
"I think the immediate goal is just to build on their success in the eliminations in the last conference and hopefully carry that into a deeper playoff run. And the great part is even if they fell short in the quarterfinals, I still think it was valuable experience for everybody on the team," he added.
More than winning, Alapag said his long-term roadmap for NLEX as its new head coach is to share his knowledge while helping the players grow and perform at their best.
"I just wanna do my best to uplift the NLEX players. I think as a coach, it's something that I learned from Coach [Mike] Brown during our time together in Sacramento before he moved on to New York and won an NBA championship. He was all about being positive with the players and really trying to encourage them, uplift them, to allow them to play and perform at their best. That's one of the things I'm gonna try to implement," the 48-year-old shared.
"Growing not just as individual players but more so growing as a family. I want them to get to know me, and I also want to make sure I get to know them on a personal level. 'Cos I think it's so important to develop new relationships. Siyempre kilala ko sila. And I think it works both ways because if you do that, you'll be able to see it when they play on the court. So just continue to grow as a team and as a family, continue to help the players improve," he said.
Aside from his basketball knowledge and PBA championship experience, Alapag is also bringing practices he picked up as a player development coach for the Sacramento Kings in the NBA.
"I think this is something I learned in my time in Sacramento. I think the relationship part of player development is a huge component. Because at the end of the day, coaches and players are human beings. And so I think it's important to always come from a perspective of wanting to help and wanting to uplift them in their careers," he said.
"I'm not playing anymore. Whatever I can do to help them have success in their careers and extend their careers, I think that's a huge part of player development," Alapag added.
Alapag officially opens his head coaching era on July 10 against guest team Macau Giant Pandas in the curtain-raiser of the PBA Season 50 Governors' Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.