Daily Tribune
JIMMY Alapag will get his baptism of fire as head coach when NLEX faces Macau in the opening salvo of the PBA Governors’ Cup on Friday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF NLEX
Games today:
(Ynares Center-Antipolo)
5:15 p.m. — Terrafirma vs Titan Ultra
7:30 p.m. — Macau vs NLEX
There’s a different kind of excitement in the NLEX camp as it heads to the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Governors’ Cup.
Ready for redemption after a sudden collapse in the previous tournament, the Road Warriors are on full tank and extra energized to welcome new head coach and league great Jimmy Alapag with a victory against returning guest team Macau today at the Ynares Center-Antipolo.
All eyes will be on debuting Alapag in his PBA homecoming in a different capacity in the main game at 7:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, Terrafirma and Titan Ultra face off in the other Group A pairing at 5:15 p.m.
Six years after leaving the Philippines for a career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a player development coach for the Sacramento Kings, Alapag enters a new chapter in his hoops journey.
An acid test awaits the six-time PBA champion but Alapag and NLEX, which was eliminated in the Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals despite holding a twice-to-beat advantage, are ready.
“I think the immediate goal is just to build on their success in the elimination round from last conference, and hopefully carry that into a deeper playoff run,” said Alapag, who replaced Jong Uichico at the reins.
“The great part is even though they fell short in the quarterfinals, I still think it was a valuable experience for everybody on the team. So, I think that’s the immediate goal. Long-term, it’s just to continue to help them grow.”
The Road Warriors invested in familiarity and chemistry by once again bringing in DeQuan Jones as reinforcement in the 6-foot-6 height-restricted conference.
High-scoring guard Robert Bolick leads the local crew alongside Kevin Alas, Schonny Winston, JB Bahio, Tony Semerad and newly-acquired guard Evan Nelle.
On the other hand, Macau will be carrying the Giant Pandas moniker with hopes of a better showing this time after the then Black Knights ended with a disappointing 3-0 record in the Commissioner’s Cup.
Macau has tapped De’Vondre Perry as its import. The 27-year-old Perry played for Temple University in college and has an impressive resume with stints in Belgium, Dominican Republic and Germany.
In the other pairing, the Dyip and Giant Risers are both eager to bounce back from so-so performances in the last Commissioner’s Cup.
Terrafirma had four wins in 12 outings while Titan Ultra finished last with a 2-10 mark in the mid-season contest.
“For sure it’s going to be a war,” Dyip coach Ronald Tubid said.
“We want to win, they want to win also so let’s see who’ll get it.”
Reinforcement Justin Strings banners Terrafirma with Juami Tiongson, Maverick Ahanmisi, Joseph Eriobu, Geo Chiu and Brent Paraiso as local support crew.
The Giant Risers will be banking on Tirrell Brown and locals Joshua Munzon, Fran Yu, Cade Flores and JB Sajonia.
