Since unretiring, long-time PBA point guard and future Hall of Famer Jimmy Alapag has been in the middle of Meralco’s process of improving.
The 38-year-old veteran joined the Bolts in August last year, and has since imparted his technical know-how and leadership to the rising crew.
Now seeing what the Bolts are truly capable of accomplishing, Alapag feels grateful to be the old head preparing the team for the future.
“Absolutely,” Alapag answered when asked whether he feels Meralco will be in good hands after a few years. “I feel like at this stage of my career, to come out of retirement and enjoy Meralco, it has given me a chance to have a hands-on approach of giving back to the game. It is very fulfilling to play this game this long.”
The Bolts are 4-0 in the on-going Commissioner’s Cup, with Alapag barley suiting up. But he finds joy in just being able to help in whatever way possible, and that includes mentoring the future of the Bolts crew.
Photo courtesy of PBA Images
“To be in this stage of my career and be able to mentor guys like Baser (Amer), and Chris (Newsome), and Cliff (Hodge), and some of the younger players, because this is their team. This isn’t my team,” Alapag said.
“I am just trying to instill in them my experience and wisdom I gained throughout my career.”
Meralco underwent a busy break after being eliminated early in the Philippine Cup; the team played a lot of tune-up games while also strengthening the bond off of the court. The break has certainly paid dividends early.
“I hate to keep coming back to last conference but it is a big turnaround for us from a poor conference. I give all the credit to my players. They worked hard in the off-season. Their attitudes remained good. They remained focused and we just want to keep winning games,” head coach Norman Black said after Meralco defeated Phoenix last Sunday, 90-87.
“I am really proud of my team tonight. We won in a night where we couldn’t shoot straight. We were missing our outside shots and foul shots and still our defense held up in the game to win the basketball game. That is going to develop our character going into our future games.”
Alapag added that in terms of chemistry and growth, the team is better compared to the previous conference. And looking ahead, there are more benchmarks to try and surpass. It is a tedious process, and he is in the middle of it all.
“We are a new team and we are still learning a lot about each other, how to play the system the right way. Unfortunately it took a conference like the first one. It humbles you in a lot of ways. Going into the conference the guys renewed their focus and we were off to a much better start,” Alapag shared.
“Our chemistry as a team is better. We had an extended off-season and it gave our team a chance to get better at the gym and spend some time off the court. It’s part of the process. I think our team grew up a little bit more. We are happy with where we are but there is still a lot of work to do.”
Photo courtesy of PBA Images
