Jimmy Alapag

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jimmy Alapag
Jimmy Alapag - APC 2006.png
Alapag in 2006
Stockton Kings
PositionAssistant coach
LeagueNBA G League
Personal information
Born (1977-12-30) December 30, 1977 (age 44)
San Bernardino, California
NationalityFilipino / American
Listed height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Listed weight160 lb (73 kg)
Career information
High schoolUpland (Upland, California)
CollegeCal State San Bernardino (1998–2002)
PBA draft2003 Round: 1 / Pick: 10th overall
Selected by the Talk 'N Text Phone Pals
Playing career2003–2016
PositionPoint guard
Number3, 4, 6, 7, and 17
Coaching career2015–present
Career history
As player:
2003–2015Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters
2015–2016Meralco Bolts
As coach:
2015–2017Philippines (assistant)
2016–2017Meralco Bolts (team consultant)
2017–2020San Miguel Alab Pilipinas
2019–2020San Miguel Beermen (assistant)
2019–2020Philippines (assistant)
2021–presentStockton Kings (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
As player

As head coach

As assistant coach

Medals
Men's Basketball
Assistant Coach for  Philippines
Southeast Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2017 Kuala Lumpur Team
Gold medal – first place 2015 Singapore Team
FIBA Asia Championship
Silver medal – second place 2015 Changsha Team
Representing  Philippines
FIBA Asia Championship
Silver medal – second place 2013 Manila Team
William Jones Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Taipei Team
Silver medal – second place 2015 Taipei Team

Jim Olmedo Alapag (born December 30, 1977) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player. He serves as an assistant coach for the Stockton Kings of the NBA G League.[1] He is nicknamed "The Mighty Mouse" and "The Captain".[2]

Early life and amateur career[]

Alapag is the youngest of six siblings, and his parents are both Filipino immigrants from Leyte. He was born and raised in San Bernardino, California. He said his greatest influence in playing basketball was his father and older brother Crispin. He started playing basketball at the age of 3.[3]

He played collegiate basketball at California State University, San Bernardino, where he established himself as a clutch three-point shooter.[4] In 2002, he had his first crack of Philippine basketball when he was invited by then-national team coach Jong Uichico to try out for the Philippine National Team bound for 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea.[5]

Professional career[]

2003: Rookie season[]

Alapag was selected 10th overall pick in the 2003 PBA draft by the Talk 'N Text Phone Pals and was considered the "steal of the draft". Later on, Alapag and slotman Asi Taulava led the Phone Pals to the All-Filipino Cup Championship by beating the Coca-Cola Tigers in the finals, after overcoming the 0–2 deficit to the Tigers and winning the last four games in the series to capture its first ever title. At the end of the 2003 season, he won the Rookie of the Year award by a huge margin after averaging 14.5 points, 7.02 assists and 6.54 rebounds per outing while shooting 35.4 percent from the three-point region.[6]

2004–05 season[]

In the 2004–05 PBA season, Alapag won his second mythical first team selection and co-MVP honors with teammate Taulava in the All-Star Game held in Cebu. He also led the Phone Pals to two straight Finals appearance but failed to win another championship against the Barangay Ginebra Kings in the Philippine Cup and against San Miguel Beermen in the Fiesta Conference.[7]

2008–2011 seasons[]

In the 2008–09 PBA Philippine Cup Finals, Alapag would add another championship ring by helping the Tropang Texters vanquish the Alaska Aces in a seven-game series. He did the same trick in the 2010–11 PBA Philippine Cup Finals against San Miguel after beating the Beermen 4 games to 2 and shared the Finals MVP honors with Jayson Castro. In the 2011 PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals, he once again led the Tropang Texters to their back-to-back championships against Brgy. Ginebra, with him and Jayson Castro again both awarded as co-finals MVP. His team made it again in the 2011 PBA Governors' Cup Finals only to lose to the Petron Blaze Boosters in seven games. At season's end, he was minted as the season's Most Valuable Player, beating the likes of Arwind Santos and Mark Caguioa in the MVP race.[8]

2011–2014 and retirement[]

In the 2011–12 PBA Philippine Cup, Alapag beat their nemesis, Petron Blaze in seven games after overcoming 1–3 deficit in their best-of-seven semi-final series. In the Finals game, his team successfully defended the Philippine Cup trophy by beating the Gary David-led Powerade Tigers, four games to one. In 2012 PBA Commissioner's Cup, the Tropang Texters again advanced to the Finals against the B-Meg Derby Ace Llamados, only to lose the series in seven games. In the 2012–13 PBA Philippine Cup Finals he led the Texters sweep the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters four games to none and retain the Philippine Cup for the third time (they also took permanent possession of the Jun Bernardino Trophy).[9]

On December 23, 2014, he passed Ronnie Magsanoc to move to No. 2 behind Allan Caidic in the all-time three-point list with 1,172 three point field goals made.[10]

On January 9, 2015, he formally announced his retirement during a press conference at the Smart Araneta Coliseum prior to the second game of the 2014–15 PBA Philippine Cup Finals between the Alaska Aces and the San Miguel Beermen. His #3 jersey was retired by Talk 'N Text on March 8, 2015, during halftime of the 2015 PBA All-Star Game.[11]

He now serves as the Gilas Pilipinas assistant coach and served as the Tropang Texters' team manager.[12][13][14] He was also appointed as a member of the FIBA Players Commission which will serve from 2014 to 2019.[15] For his supposed final PBA game, he played for the South All-Star Team for 2015 PBA All Star. He scored 12 points and dished out 14 assists.[16]

Coming out of retirement and return to basketball[]

On August 7, 2015, Alapag came out of retirement and was traded by the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters to the Blackwater Elite in exchange for Larry Rodriguez and then to the Meralco Bolts for Mike Cortez and James Sena.[17] He signed a two-year deal with the Meralco Bolts worth P10.08 million.[18]

Formal retirement in the PBA[]

On November 3, 2016, Alapag announced in a YouTube video by Alaska Aces player Eric Menk that he will no longer play for the Meralco Bolts in the 2016–17 PBA season hence his formal retirement in the PBA at the age of 39, after playing for 13 years for the Talk N' Text and Meralco teams.[19]

Coaching career[]

Gilas Pilipinas, Talk 'N Text, Meralco, and San Miguel[]

After retiring from international basketball, Alapag was quickly tapped by then-Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tab Baldwin as one of the team's assistant coaches. Alapag also served as an assistant coach and team consultant at the Meralco Bolts and Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters. In 2019, he became one of the assistant coaches for the San Miguel Beermen.[20]

Alab Pilipinas[]

On August 12, 2017, Alapag announced through his Instagram account that he will be the new head coach for Alab Pilipinas of the ASEAN Basketball League. This was Alapag's first major coaching role since his retirement from basketball.[21] He coached his team to the Finals, defeating the Mono Vampire Basketball Club of Thailand in five games, and winning his first ABL championship.[22]

In his second season, they failed to defend their title, falling to the Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions in the playoffs.[23]

In his third season, Alab had a 10-6 record before the ABL season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[24] He then left for the US and Alab has yet to announce a new head coach.[25]

Sacramento and Stockton Kings[]

In 2019, Alapag reached out to the Sacramento Kings' general manager Vlade Divac for a coaching opportunity.[26] Divac offered him a position to help coach the Summer League squad, which he accepted.[26]

He didn't coach the next season due to the Stockton Kings not fielding a G-League team for that season,[27] but returned the next season to be an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings Summer League team, where they won the 2021 Summer League championship.[28] He was then named as an assistant coach for the Stockton Kings following their successful Summer League campaign.[29]

National team career[]

Alapag first saw action for the Philippines national team in the 2007 FIBA Asia Championship in Tokushima, Japan where they finished 9th overall.[30] He returned to action in the FIBA Asia Cup 2011 in Wuhan, China, where this time, he helped guide a young Gilas Pilipinas to the top 4.[30] In 2013, he helped Gilas win a silver medal in the Fiba Asia championship, qualifying them for the 2014 FIBA World Cup, with him hitting a clutch three-pointer in their game against South Korea.[31][32]

Alapag played his first World Cup stint in Spain. He helped his team to win its first World Cup victory for the first time in 40 years, beating Senegal. Despite his announcement of retiring from the national team after playing in the world cup, he accepted another offer after Jayson Castro was declared unable to play for the Asian Games in Incheon. During the tournament, the national team was expected to win gold because of their performance in the World Cup, but they lost three games in a row against Iran, Qatar, and the host, South Korea, respectively. At the end of the tournament, he retired from international basketball.

PBA career statistics[]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

[33]

Season-by-season averages[]

Year Team GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2003 Talk 'N Text 54 37.6 .222 .354 .753 6.5 7.0 .9 .0 14.5
2004–05 Talk 'N Text 77 34.0 .407 .360 .764 5.5 5.8 .6 .0 14.3
2005–06 Talk 'N Text 41 35.2 .382 .335 .786 5.4 8.1 .6 .0 13.1
2006–07 Talk 'N Text 28 31.2 .420 .347 .741 4.9 6.9 .5 .0 11.5
2007–08 Talk 'N Text 39 30.8 .421 .361 .797 6.0 5.9 .6 .0 13.5
2008–09 Talk 'N Text 46 31.8 .412 .406 .823 3.8 5.0 .7 .0 14.9
2009–10 Talk 'N Text 47 32.1 .333 .360 .826 2.6 6.5 .5 .0 14.0
2010–11 Talk 'N Text 63 30.3 .379 .349 .841 2.9 5.4 .5 .0 12.4
2011–12 Talk 'N Text 52 28.1 .383 .348 .769 2.4 5.5 .3 .0 10.7
2012–13 Talk 'N Text 49 26.4 .396 .370 .878 1.9 4.8 .4 .0 10.2
2013–14 Talk 'N Text 46 25.6 .380 .324 .896 2.1 4.5 .3 .0 8.3
2014–15 Talk 'N Text 12 15.3 .543 .485 .929 2.2 2.3 .6 .0 6.6
2015–16 Meralco 47 22.5 .410 .367 .833 1.6 4.0 .4 .0 7.5
Career 601 30.3 .374 .360 .803 3.8 5.7 .5 .0 12.1

Playing style[]

Alapag is known for his three-point shooting, play-making, and decision-making during clutch moments. Despite his size, Alapag takes advantage of his speed and agility against defenders.[7]

Personal life[]

Alapag's parents are Filipino immigrants Crispin and Aurora Alapag. He's the youngest of six siblings. He considers his father as well as his elder brother Crispin Jr. as his two greatest influences in basketball.[34]

He is currently married to Filipina actress LJ Moreno, with whom he has three children, Ian Maximus, Keona Skye, and Calen Asher.[35]

References[]

  1. ^ "Jimmy Alapag named to coaching staff of Sacramento's G League team". ABS-CBN News. August 24, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  2. ^ "FIBA Asia Cup memories and future expectations with Jimmy Alapag". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  3. ^ "Jimmy Alapag – the basketball 'The Mighty Mouse'. Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho one-on-one interview with 'The Mighty Mouse' on basketball court". Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  4. ^ Halili, Mico. "The Final Score: Jimmy Alapag's parents saw something familiar in Game 3". www.gmanetwork.com. GMA News. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  5. ^ Henson, Joaquin. "Fil-Am Jimmy Alapag: Big Little Man". www.philstar.com. Philippine Star. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  6. ^ "Sportinglife 360 - Car & Automotive".
  7. ^ a b "Sportinglife 360 - Car & Automotive".
  8. ^ Tupas, Cedelf P. (14 August 2011). "Talk N' Text ace Alapag bags PBA MVP award". inquirer.net. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  9. ^ Umbao, Ed (16 January 2013). "Talk 'N Text Captured Philippine Cup Title Grand Slam". philnews.ph. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  10. ^ Sacamos, Karlo. "Jimmy Alapag leapfrogs Magsanoc to move to No. 2 behind Caidic in three-point list". www.spin.ph. SPIN.ph. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  11. ^ "Talk 'N Text retires Jimmy Alapag's jersey in tiff with Rain or Shine; Barako Bull, Blackwater clash". InterAksyon.com. Archived from the original on 29 January 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  12. ^ "Jimmy Alapag retires". Rappler. January 9, 2015.
  13. ^ Badua, Snow (January 9, 2015). "Jimmy Alapag retires, takes on new role as Talk 'N Text manager, Gilas assistant coach". spin.ph.
  14. ^ Lozada, Bong (January 9, 2015). "'For me it's time', Alapag says as he retires". INQUIRER.net.
  15. ^ "Alapag honored to be named to FIBA Players Commission". www.philstar.com. Philippine Star. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  16. ^ INQUIRER.net (8 March 2015). "NORTH WINS ALL-STAR GAME; SOUTH CLAIMS DANCEOFF PRIZE". inquirer.net. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  17. ^ Ganglani, Naveen (August 7, 2015). "Jimmy Alapag to come out of retirement, will join Meralco after trade". rappler.com. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  18. ^ "JIMMY ALAPAG, PUMIRMA NG TWO-YEAR CONTRACT SA MERALCO BOLTS". winradio.com.ph. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  19. ^ "Former PBA MVP Jimmy Alapag announces retirement - this time 'for good'". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. November 3, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  20. ^ Terrado, Reuben (Aug 3, 2019). "Friendships take backseat as Alapag set to face former team TNT as SMB deputy". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  21. ^ Riego, Norman (August 12, 2017). "Alapag announced as new head coach for Alab Pilipinas". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  22. ^ Nicolas, Jino (2018-05-06). "Gilas mentor Chot Reyes proud of now-champion Alab coach Jimmy Alapag". BusinessWorld Online. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  23. ^ Leongson, Randolph B. (April 3, 2019). "Alab title defense meets sad, abrupt end after lopsided loss to HK". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  24. ^ Leongson, Randolph B. (2020). "Defiant ABL cancels campaign, but vows to be back next season". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  25. ^ Leongson, Randolph B. (Sep 16, 2020). "Alab in no rush to name new coach following Alapag departure". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  26. ^ a b Ramos, Kyle (July 18, 2019). "Jimmy Alapag: From Philippines Star to Sacramento's Sidelines". Sacramento Kings. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  27. ^ "How Jimmy Alapag almost landed an NBA G League coaching job". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  28. ^ Leongson, Randolph B. (August 22, 2021). "Alapag hopes Kings stint leads to more Pinoys in Summer League - and NBA". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  29. ^ Leongson, Randolph B. (Nov 5, 2021). "Jimmy Alapag set for G League coaching debut with Stockton Kings". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  30. ^ a b "Year-end Throwback - Jimmy Alapag's World Cup experience". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  31. ^ Leongson, Randolph B. "Alapag says Gilas point guard spot 'in good hands' with SJ, RJ". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  32. ^ Ochoa, Francis T. J. (2013-08-11). "Gilas ends Korean torment, wins Fiba Asia semifinal to book World Cup berth". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  33. ^ Player Profile at PBA-Online!
  34. ^ "YouTube". youtube.com. Archived from the original on 2015-12-18. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  35. ^ Dabu, Bianca Rose (June 23, 2016). "LJ Moreno talks about adoption, pregnancy woes". GMA News. Retrieved November 21, 2016.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""