Newly appointed NLEX coach Jimmy Alapag will be taking a page from New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown’s playbook to help the Road Warriors turn their fortune around.

Alapag said his first order of business is to build NLEX’s confidence heading into the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Governors’ Cup.

“I just want to do my best to uplift the NLEX players,” said the incoming first year PBA coach, who is making a return to the league after working as player development coach of the Sacramento Kings in the National Basketball Association for six years.

Alapag formally signed as Road Warriors mentor on Monday, a day after arriving from the United States, replacing Jong Uichico.

The six-time PBA champion with TNT and member of the league’s 50 Greatest Players made his first public appearance as head coach on Tuesday during NLEX’s tune-up match against Blackwater.

Alapag, who officially hung his sneakers in 2016, said he’s using the same coaching philosophy as Brown, whom he worked with in Sacramento before he transferred to the Knicks and steered New York to the 2026 season throne at the expense of the San Antonio Spurs.

“I think as a coach it’s something I learned from coach (Mike) Brown during our time in Sacramento before he moved on to New York and won an NBA championship. He was all about, you know, being positive with the player and really trying to encourage them and uplift them to allow them to play and perform at their best,” the 48-year-old Alapag said.

“That’s one of the many things that I’m gonna try to implement now that I’m here.”

Alapag saw the Road Warriors’ quarterfinals appearance in the Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup as something to build on heading into the season-ending conference.

NLEX actually topped the elimination round and entered the playoffs as the top seed with a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarters. The Road Warriors, however, hit a brick wall and were eliminated by No. 8 seed and eventual runner-up TNT.

“That was really my message to them; I thought they had a great elimination round. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out in the quarters. My message to them was I don’t care about what happened in the quarterfinals. I think it’s important for us, together with the coaching staff, to try to build on their success during the eliminations,” he said.

“It’s not easy to be the No. 1 seed and a lot of the credit goes to coach Jong and coach Borgie (Hermida) and the rest of the staff. I’m excited to work with them. I’m excited to work with the players to try to build off that first place (in the elims).”

As one of the PBA’s top point guards, Alapag expressed excitement with his talent-laden backcourt roster led by scorer Robert Bolick.

“Being a former point guard once upon a time, I’m excited to work with all the great talent there. Bolick, Schonny Winston, Kevin Alas, Matt Nieto, there’s so many great young guards. LJay Gonzalez is another one,” said Alapag, who is expected to keep the coaching staff intact except for the inclusion of former Phoenix coach Jamike Jarin.

“So again, part of my job as a coach is to try to help them. And obviously, from my experience playing the position and now my experience in the NBA, to be able to hopefully allow them to grow and have success in their career is a high priority. So. I’m looking forward to it,” added the former San Miguel Alab Pilipinas mentor that won the 2018 Asean Basketball League crown.

Alapag will make his PBA homecoming as a shot-caller on 10 July against guest team Macau Giant Pandas at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.