Alapag takes notice of Bolick, Perez: ‘A lot of talent, athleticism’

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net

Robert Bolick and CJ Perez had memorable duels this past NCAA season for their respective schools San Beda and Lyceum, but as members of coach Chot Reyes’ “23-for-23” list, their impressive work on Monday’s evening practices at Meralco Gym caught the eye of one national team deputy.

The two got the attention of Gilas Pilipinas assistant coach Jimmy Alapag, who observed the short practice session where Bolick, Perez and the rest of the young bloods worked out with the veteran national team members.

“Bolick and CJ, having watched them in the last NCAA Finals, there’s a lot of talent, a lot of young energy, a lot of athleticism out here. I’m excited for them,” the former Gilas captain said.

Standout performances from Bolick and Perez shouldn’t come as a surprise given their accomplishments in the collegiate and amateur levels.

Bolick led San Beda to back-to-back NCAA titles and took Cignal HD to the 2017 PBA D-League Aspirant’s Cup crown where was even named MVP while Perez was the anchor of Lyceum’s impressive run in the NCAA Season 93 where the Pirates pulled off an 18-0 elimination round sweep.

But Alapag wasn’t just fixated on the pair as he also expressed his excitement upon seeing the influx of young talent in the national team pool.

“It’s an exciting time for Philippine basketball. Like what coach Chot said earlier, this program has gone so far since 2007 in Tokushima,” he said.

“We still see guys like Jayson (Castro), Japeth (Aguilar), June Mar (Fajardo), and Gabe (Norwood) who played in Spain and are still here to help the next generation. Then you have Bolick and CJ Perez who are going to be the future of the Gilas program, so it’s good to see everybody here and now the work begins.”

The 2023 Fiba World Cup is still five years away, but Alapag knows the importance of letting the young guns learn as early as now.

“You can never start too early. The dribble drive system allows us Filipino players to take advantage of our strengths our speed, quickness, ability to shoot from the perimeter and our creativity. Filipino players are very creative in how we handle the ball and how we can get to the rim and finish,” he said.

“So I think for them, being a part of the program is something that they will remember for the rest of their careers. For these younger guys to compete against the veterans this early, it’s only going to help them improve. It’s that youthful energy mixing with great mentors in the veterans who have already experienced so much. I think these young guys will be able to learn a lot from them.”