Alapag gets rare chance with Alab

Jimmy Alapag gets the rare chance of bagging an international title in his coaching debut when San Miguel-Alab Pilipinas takes on Mono Vampire of Thailand in a best-of-five series for the Asean Basketball League championship.

Alab plays host to the first two games of the playoffs at Santa Rosa Multi-Purpose Complex in Laguna starting with Sunday night’s Game 1.

Plucked from the coaching staff of Meralco in the Philippine Basketball Association last year, Alapag endured a woeful start with Alab Pilipinas before his fortunes changed in his initial crack as a head coach after retiring two years ago from Gilas Pilipinas, where he distinguished himself as one of its crack guards.

From a 1-3 start, Jimmy replaced world imports Ivan Johnson and Reggie Okosa with PBA veterans Renaldo Balkman and Justin Brownlee. And when Tanduay pulled out its sponsorship last February with Alab on the way up with a 7-4 record, Alapag found another godfather in San Miguel.

Alab went on to close the elimination round with three straight wins and boosted its stock no end with a two-game sweep of defending champion Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions in their best-of-three semifinal series, 98-94, and 79-72.

While Mono Vampire, bannered by 7-foot-5 import Samuel Deguara of Malta, showed fine form in ousting Chong Sung Kung Fu of China with a similar two-game romp in their own semifinal duel, Alapag is inspired by his two earlier conquests (114-87 and 86-84) of their title foes in the eliminations.

While ousting Hong Kong was an achievement, Alapag said the goal was winning the championship “and we’ll do everything to bring it back to the Philippines.”

San Miguel Beer won the ABL title for the first time in 2013 behind a team led by Asi Taulava and Eric Menk.

The only other ABL crown for the country came in the inaugural staging in 2009 courtesy of the Air Asia Philippine Patriots.

Leo Austria, who joined hands with the late Bobby Parks Sr. in handling that 2013 SMB squad, steered the Beermen to a record fourth straight PBA Philippine Cup early this month.