Alapag clashes with old mentor, old team

Alapag clashes with old mentor, old team | Daily Tribune

First-year NLEX mentor Alapag puts his team’s perfect slate on the line against the reigning champion in the showdown between master and student today at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Alapag, who won all six of his PBA titles as a player with the TNT franchise, braces for a tough grind against his former club, which remains a formidable opponent despite missing key players.

Tipoff time is set at 7:30 p.m. after the 5:15 p.m. tussle between surging guest team Macau and struggling Titan Ultra.

“I guess we’re going to continue with the nostalgia going into Tuesday,” Alapag said.

“You know, obviously, a lot of history there. A lot of great memories there. Some of the guys who I still played with are still there. Obviously, Jason (Castro); Ranidel (De Ocampo), and Ryan (Reyes) on the coaching staff,” he added.

“But again, we have a job to do for NLEX.”

Since Alapag took over as mentor, replacing Jong Uichico, the Road Warriors have been running on high gear with Converge as their latest victim, 119-107, last Saturday for a tighter grip of the top spot in Group A.

Import DeQuan Jones, Schonny Winston, Robert Bolick and Kevin Alas have been playing good music together to keep NLEX cruising on the right track for a quarterfinals seat.

But while the Road Warriors have their vital cogs intact, the Tropang 5G have been improvising to compensate in the absence of injured Castro, Calvin Oftana, Kelly Williams and, recently, RR Pogoy and Jordan Heading.

In fact, TNT had to rely on Kim Aurin’s version of a flu game to escape San Miguel Beer, 93-89, in overtime last Saturday.

The Tropang 5G won back-to-back games for a 3-2 slate in solo third spot.

But Reyes knows what kind of a rival his team is going up against next.

“Yeah, not only are they unbeaten, but they’re playing at a very high level. Higher than any other team in the league, to be very honest with you,” Reyes said.

“Great job, what Coach Jimmy is doing there. I’m so proud of the job that he’s doing,” he added.

“And again, it’s going to be a huge challenge for us. I hope we can be deserving of going on the same floor with them to compete against them, especially with all our injuries.”

A daunting task awaits import Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson, Aurin, who scored 22 last game, Rey Nambatac and the recently returned big men JP Erram and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser.

“This is going to be a really, really big mountain for us. But we will just approach it the way we’ve always approached it -- just piece by piece. Put one foot in front of the other, and just focus on what’s in front of us,” Reyes said.

Meanwhile, the Giant Pandas hunt for a third straight win and replicate their first-round win over the Giant Risers.

Macau has won consecutive outings after a 0-4 start to stroke its playoffs campaign.

Titan Ultra, on the other hand, is at the bottom of the group with a 1-5 mark.