NLEX head coach Jimmy Alapag liked what he saw in the Road Warriors on his first day holding the reins.

Alapag felt that NLEX is working well despite the coaching shakeup that came less than two weeks before the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Governors’ Cup opens shop.

In fact, the incoming first-year league tactician had a good dry run calling the shots during the Road Warriors’ tune-up match against Blackwater last Tuesday.

“I thought it was great,” said Alapag, who won six titles for TNT during his playing days.

“They looked excited, so, I hope that’s a good sign. But I thought this morning, I told them before the game, their competitive spirit was at a high level for a tune-up game, and I think that’s the first battle,” he added.

Alapag formally signed with NLEX on Monday, a day after he arrived from the United States.

The member of the PBA’s 50 Greatest Players replaced Jong Uichico in his homecoming after working as player development coach of the Sacramento Kings for six years.

His first order of business is to lift the spirit of the Road Warriors after a disappointing quarterfinal exit in the Commissioner’s Cup at the hands of No. 8-seeded and eventual runner-up TNT despite holding a twice-to-beat advantage.   

“But before we get into the X’s and O’s, I think your competitive spirit and especially us as Filipinos, it’s natural for us. So, I just want to try to bring that out in all of them and I think everything else will take care of itself,” the 48-year-old Alapag said.

Despite not having a hand in the choice of reinforcement in the 6-foot-6 height-restricted season-ending tournament, the many-time Gilas Pilipinas campaigner felt bringing back DeQuan Jones was a good move.

Jones, who suited up for NLEX last year, is back for redemption after the Road Warriors hit a snag in the best-of-five quarters at the hands of the reigning champion Tropang 5G.