San Miguel Beermen assistant coach Jimmy Alapag expressed is excited to join the Sacramento Kings’ coaching staff in the NBA Summer League, which runs from July 5 to July 15 in Las Vegas.
“Excited. It’s a good opportunity being around more great basketball minds. I feel very fortunate because all throughout my career, I was able to be coached by some Hall-of-Fame coaches here in our country,” he said.
“So long those same lines, now getting a chance to be around more great basketball minds from around the NBA, I just wanna try to maximize this opportunity and this experience,” added the Alab Pilipinas head coach.
“Looking forward to being there and ready to get to work.”
The PBA legend has become the talk of the town recently due to his upcoming endeavor. For Alapag, this is an opportunity he will cherish, since it will help him grow further as a basketball coach.
“This is my first time. So, you know, this is almost like going back to school,” said the 41-year-old tactician. “But again, I’m excited and you know, it’s always a great opportunity to go abroad and represent our Philippine basketball.
“Working hard has always been easy for me, so that’s really the approach that I’m taking to go there and be a sponge and really try to learn as much as I can, grow from this experience and we’ll see what happens going forward,” he added.
Alapag shared that it all started when Kings vice president of basketball operations and general manager Vlade Divac invited him to be part of their crew for the Summer League. He refused to let the chance slip away.
Alapag and Divac are both part of the FIBA Players’ Commission.
“We’ve kept in contact through the years, had a chance to talk once the ABL season ended. The conversation led to him, you know, [to] understanding that I wanna continue to learn and grow as a coach,” Alapag shared.
“Once he offered the chance to go and be with their Summer League team, I jumped on the opportunity,” he added.
“It’s, for me, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And again, just excited to be out there and looking forward to it.”
Things are more satisfying for Alapag since he has received the full blessing of the San Miguel bosses. Now, he can’t wait to fly there and come back to impart the lessons he will learn to all the Beermen.
“Yes, the management, from boss Alfrancis [Chua] to boss Robert [Non] and boss Gee [Abanilla], have all been very supportive. It will be tough to be away from the team for the next four, five weeks starting next week,” said the ABL champion coach.
“But again, this is a great opportunity for me to continue to grow. And hopefully apply whatever I learn there when I come back.”
