It’s no secret that the San Miguel Corporation had been the saving grace for Alab Pilipinas in its’ campaign in the 8th ASEAN Basketball League, when Tanduay Distillers Inc. backed out with just five games into the season.
But who would have ever thought that the man responsible for the conglomerate’s arrival to the sophomore Filipino ball club would be its head coach Jimmy Alapag, a loyal soldier of San Miguel’s rival group?
Alapag bared that it was him who tried to reach out to San Miguel, and the very first step he did was reaching out to Barangay Ginebra San Miguel star LA Tenorio, who was his former teammate in Gilas Pilipinas years ago.
And from there, as they say, the rest is history.
With San Miguel in tow, Alab has captured the ABL crown Wednesday night at the expense of the Mono Vampire BC, 102-92, in Laguna to end the Philippines’ five-year title drought in the regional pro league.
Photo from ASEAN Basketball League
“I reached out to LA Tenorio, and he was able to connect to boss Alfrancis [Chua] with Charlie [Dy] and I. It really set off from there,” said the PBA great after the victory.
“I can’t thank them enough. Can’t thank them enough for the support.”
It had been a reunion of sorts for Alapag and SMC. Alapag had played for an SMC-backed national team back in 2007, and the man responsible for his arrival to the Philippines is former San Miguel coach: the legendary Ron Jacobs.
So when Alab hoisted the championship trophy, it was indeed a fruitful reunion for Alapag and San Miguel.
“When you lose your title sponsor five games into the season, that’s not ideal and it’s tough when you’re losing,” he recalled, as Alab was 1-4 in that span. “For them to come on board, to support us the way that they did, here we are.
“Again, thankful to the San Miguel group, to boss Alfrancis and the management,” furthered the 40-year-old.
“There were a lot of people who were very supportive in this journey. Thankful to everyone that brought us here.”
