Alapag excited on challenge of handling Alab Pilipinas
JIMMY “Mighty Mouse” Alapag is one of the best players the PBA has ever produced, but he’ll embark on a new challenge as a rookie head coach for the Alab Pilipinas playing in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL).
Starting October, Mr. Alapag and the rest of the Alab Pilipinas squad will take the floor to prepare for the coming ABL season. The team has yet to be finalized at this time, but the former PBA Most Valuable Player had started naming the nucleus of the team he envisions.
Second generation player Ray Parks, Fil-Am small forward Lawrence Domingo and comebacking Ivan Johnson will lead the Alab Pilipinas’ campaign in Mr. Alapag’s first shot at the coaching scene.
Spending the past few years being a part of the coaching staff of Gilas Pilipinas coached by Tab Baldwin and Chot Reyes, Mr. Alapag will get his first big break in handling his own team in the ABL.
Mr. Alapag envisions a versatile and fast Philippine club team to the regional meet. He sees Messrs. Parks, Domingo and Johnson to become an integral part of the new coach’s system.
“I’m excited. I’m expecting us to be versatile on the way we play. We will play fast, quick. I think as Filipino players, we will play to our strength. I think being versatile not just offensively, but defensively,” Mr. Alapag told BusinessWorld.
Tapping Mr. Johnson, according to Mr. Alapag, was a no brainer. The two spent time together at the Talk ’N Text Tropang Texters when the long- time Gilas Pilipinas team captain was serving as team manager of the squad and the temperamental import serving as the reinforcement of the team that went on to win the championship in the Commissioner’s Cup two years ago.
“Ivan will be a big part of that because of his ability to guard and we saw that when he won a championship with Talk ‘N Text. He can guard different imports whether they’re wing or bigs. I’m looking forward to it,” said Mr. Alapag.
Mr. Johnson, the controversial import who was banned by PBA Commissioner Chito Narvasa for “cursing him and the officials,” was the top choice of Mr. Alapag as import.
An NBA veteran, Mr. Johnson played for the Atlanta Hawks in the 2011- 2012 season where he had his share of controversies. He was sent home and fined an undisclosed amount of money for showing “conduct detrimental to the team.”
After he had a career- game scoring 21 points in the Hawks’ game against the Toronto Raptors, he was fined $25,000 by the NBA for flashing a dirty finger at a Boston Celtics fan a month later. In two seasons playing for the Hawks, the 6-foot-8 Johnson averaged 6.5 points per game.
Setting aside the controversies, Mr. Johnson is a welltraveled import who gets the job done for his squad. He also had a stint playing in China, Korea, Spain, Iran and Lebanon.
Mr. Parks, one of only few Filipino players who played at least in the NBA Summer League, spent the past few months playing for Gilas Pilipinas, the last one was the Southeast Asian Games where he helped the Philippines win another gold medal.
Mr. Domingo, a well- built 6- foot- 5 player, was trying to enter the PBA, but had to secure some paper work until he settled to play for Alab Pilipinas.
“We’re still in the process now. Our intention is to practice by the first week of October. From now until then, we’re finalizing our roster. We should have a few more guys on board in the coming days. Right now, the main priority is finalizing our roster. The first week of October, we’ll hit the ground,” said Mr. Alapag. —