AFTER living out his dream for the last 12 years, Jimmy Alapag is calling it a day.
The 5-foot-8 dynamo last night announced his retirement as a player.
A grateful Talk ‘N Text management made him the the Tropang Texters’ new team manager and the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas named him an assistant to head coach Tab Baldwin at Gilas Pilipinas.
“I don’t know if there’s a right time to announce you’re retiring,” said Alapag, whose full-blooded Filipino parents sat behind him during the announcement. “But you know, for me it’s time.
“Every player, sooner or later, has to see the end of the road.”
Alapag, the MVP in 2011, hung his jersey as one of the league’s all-time greats. And though he admitted that there are “always things left to accomplish, for me, I think it’s the right time. A new challenge awaits.”
“We will all miss his leadership and contribution, the quintessential player,” said Talk ‘N Text team owner and national team godfather Manny V. Pangilinan, whose statement was read by PBA chair Pato Gregorio.
10th overall draft pick
The 37-year-old Alapag entered the league in 2003 as the last pick in the first round— 10th overall—before making an impact that will never be forgotten in the local pro league and in the international scene as well.
“It has been an incredible ride the last 12 years,” Alapag said. “[There were] successes, failures, tears of joy and sadness. I feel so very, very blessed to be part of this game, and the history of this league.
“I’m just excited for what lies ahead.”
Alapag, who is second to Allan Caidic in most three-pointers drained in a career with 1,177—just 65 behind “The Triggerman”— immediately said that coaching any of the three PLDT Group teams in the PBA is out of the question at the moment.
Gilas named a new coach in Baldwin just a few weeks ago, and Alapag was named as the Kiwi’s first assistant coach.
Apologies to Alaska, SMB
Gregorio and Alapag also apologized to Alaska and San Miguel Beer—which are locked in a very physical title showdown for the Philippine Cup—for making the announcement just a few minutes before tip-off of Game 2.
“We don’t want rain on the parade of Alaska and San Miguel, but we feel that Jimmy Alapag is an important part of the PBA and Philippine basketball as well,” said Gregorio.
Alapag carved a niche internationally as Gilas’ most prolific pure point guard. He had many shining moments, especially in the Fiba Asia qualifier for the World Cup in Manila.
In Spain, when the Philippines again gained entry into the global tournament, Alapag played a lot bigger than his size in several games, most notably during the 81-79 overtime victory over Senegal.
That win was the first for the Philippines in over 40 years in the World Cup.
And though that was a tough tournament, which was later followed by an Asian Games stint in South Korea, Alapag has no regrets.
“Did those tournaments shorten my career? I guess they did,” Alapag said. “But I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.”