Alapag gets full-circle moment with NLEX win over TNT

MANILA, Philippines — For years, the name Jimmy Alapag has been almost synonymous with the team Talk n Text.

One of its most iconic players, Alapag played for the Phone Pals and the Tropang Texters during his PBA career before retiring, although he came out of retirement and played for the Meralco Bolts for one more season.

And on Tuesday evening, now-NLEX Road Warriors head coach Alapag had a full circle moment, this time, coaching against TNT and his former longtime coach Chot Reyes.

The newbie coach steered his squad to an 88-83 win over the depleted Tropang 5G, which gave the squad its sixth straight win of the PBA Governors’ Cup.

“Coach Chot is somebody who I have the utmost respect for. Obviously, we shared a lot of success together, both with the PBA, with Talk N Text and with Gilas,” Alapag told reporters after the game.

“And again, it's always an honor to be able, in my young PBA coaching career, to coach against one of the best. I'm thankful that we got the win,” he added. 

Alapag won multiple titles with TNT, with Reyes calling the shots. The guard also won two Finals Most Valuable Players awards during that time.

“It's always an honor when you get a chance to coach against one of the best, right? I think Coach Chot’s resume speaks for itself. Not just his success in the PBA, but also with the Gilas program,” Alapag told reporters after the game.

“It's no surprise he has Talk n Text playing the way they are, even with so many key guys down. It's a credit to him and their staff. But again, proud of our guys. It's not easy to win six in a row in the PBA.”

He also quipped that seeing other teammates now coaching for TNT — Ranidel de Ocampo and Ryan Reyes — “shows our age.”

“But again, I got so much love for those guys. We have a lot of special memories together, a lot of battles. And it's great to see them make this transition into coaching. But again, just a lot of love for those guys, and that doesn't change.”

The Road Warriors remained unscathed in the import-laden conference thus far, although Tuesday’s game was the only time it failed to crack 100 points, despite several players out for the Tropang 5G.

Jayson Castro, RR Pogoy and Calvin Oftana did not see the floor on Tuesday for TNT. Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson carried the load for the squad with 22 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals in his conference debut, while Rey Nambatac, Glenn Khobuntin and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser provided 13 each.

But it was the explosive performance of Daquan Jones that towed NLEX to the victory. The team’s import had 27 points, seven rebounds, two blocks, an assist and a steal. LJ Gonzales chipped in 11 off the bench, while Robert Bolick had 10.

“Talk N Text is a very dangerous team no matter who's on the floor. Obviously, they have a lot of their key guys out. Jayson, Oftana, Pogoy. But the guys who are there are still competing at a high level. And I think that's a credit to Nambatac, to [Kim] Aurin, to Khobuntin,” Alapag said.

“They're out there and really taking advantage of this opportunity. But the game was definitely slower than we would have liked. And I think as the season goes on, we'll get back to practice and see how we can improve and get better.”