Alapag looms as Gilas Pilipinas deputy coach

A NEW PH team tour of duty for Jimmy Alapag.

Coaches of all three teams owned by Manny V. Pangilinan in the Philippine Basketball Association met with the business tycoon the other night to  obviously chart the course of Talk ‘N Text, Meralco and NLEX  in the new year.

Also involved in that discussion was one-time MVP and former national team star Jimmy Alapag.

Alapag ended his tour of duty with the Gilas Pilipinas squad as possibly its greatest point guard ever, and from all indications, it looks like the the 5-foot-7 point guard will next be seen in the National squad as one of Tab Baldwin’s assistant coaches.
After playing another great tournament in the World Cup in Seville, Spain last September, Alapag’s encore came during the Incheon Asian Games in South Korea where a team squabble led to the Philippines’ worst-ever finish of seventh place.

Alapag reiterated that he will no longer play for flag and country when Gilas 3.0, which will be handled by Baldwin at least for the next four years, is formed early this year.

“It’s time to let the others get the chance to represent our country,” Alapag said, before admitting that he is open to the idea of being tapped as a deputy of Baldwin.

“I’m absolutely open to it,” he said. “I would love to be involved in whatever capacity and help the new guys.”

Baldwin, a New Zealander born in the US, was formally introduced to the media as not only the new Gilas coach but the chief overseer of the national cage programs last week.

Baldwin has had great international success, steering Jordan to a second place finish behind China in the 2011 Fiba Asia Championship, which the Chinese won in questionable fashion in their home country.

Alapag’s national career has seen an  end and the crack guard known as “Mighty Mouse” seemed also ripe for PBA retirement after turning 37 on Tuesday.

Gilas will be playing in at least two big international events this year, including the Fiba Asia Championship tentatively slated in China. The event serves as the qualifier to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics in Brazil.

Only one Asian slot will be up for grabs in the event, unlike two years ago in Manila where the top two finishers—which turned out to be Iran and the Philippines—went to Spain for the World Cup.

Before the Fiba-Asia in China, the Philippines would likely play in the Jones Cup.  The Philippines, under Chot Reyes, last won the Jones Cup in 2012 when it downed the US in the final elimination round playdate.