All-time great Jimmy Alapag sure knows a lot when it comes to setting up and making plays for his teammates inside the hardwood. But facilitating players all the way from the sidelines as a head coach feels different for him.
This comes after the 39-year-old had his head coaching debut on Sunday night at the Mall of Asia Arena, calling the shots for Tanduay Alab Pilipinas in their ASEAN Basketball League opener opposite Hong Kong Eastern Basketball Team.
“When you’ve played for so long, parang, it’s a much different perspective,” shared Alapag, who first served as an assistant coach to Norman Black with the Meralco Bolts and to Chot Reyes with SMART Gilas Pilipinas. “Kasi when you’re playing, ‘di ba, you’re focused on making the shot or making the assist.
“But now, when you’re coaching, you’re trying to put the pieces together to make it work with the five guys on the court.”
When asked how would he rate himself in his debut, Alapag gave himself neither a high remark nor a low one. For him, it was “just okay”, since he and the Filipino dribblers had lost to the defending champions narrowly, 89-92.
“Just okay… Just okay.
“Just like the players have to get back to work in practice, I’ll do my part watching video tonight and making sure that we’re better on the 29th against Singapore [Slingers],” said Alapag.
But aside from giving remarks about himself, the future Hall of Famer also gave his two cents on the loss. It may have been a disappointing defeat, but Alapag believes that it is something Alab can build on as the season progresses.
“It was definitely something that we can build of off,” said Alapag, as his wards were able to threaten the defending champions. “I was very pleased with our effort in the second half pero kailangan not just 20 minutes. It needs to be a 40 minute effort.
“But again, even despite the loss, there were a lot of positives we can build on.”
