Former Gilas Pilipinas ace and now NLEX mentor Jimny Alapag is open to pitching in his ideas and expertise if given the chance to join the team’s coaching staff.

Alapag is not closing his doors for the opportunity of returning to the national team albeit in a different role.

“I mean, that’s not for me to decide. You know my history with the Gilas program. I hold it very close to my heart from all the experiences that we had, even though it was a long time ago,” said Alapag, who retired from the national team in 2014 after a seven-year tour of duty.

The 48-year-old former player development coach of the Sacramento Kings in the National Basketball Association had a colorful career donning the Gilas uniform.

Alapag helped Gilas return to the FIBA World Cup for the first time in 40 years after the Philippines runner-up finish in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship. He led Gilas in the 2014 World Cup in Spain before retiring in the same year following his farewell stint in the Incheon Asian Games.

Working with Gilas from the sideline is not new for Alapag as he has served as assistant coach before for Tab Baldwin, Chot Reyes and current national team tactician Tim Cone.

In fact, the original reason for his return to the Philippines after nearly seven years in the United States was a call-up for a Gilas deputy position in the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers window.

While waiting for his official appointment, Alapag took the offer to return to the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) to handle the Road Warriors as a replacement for current Gilas assistant coach Jong Uichico.

“But we’ll see. If ever the opportunity were to present itself, I’ll be ready,” Alapag said.

The six-time PBA champion and member of the PBA’s 50 Greatest Players understood the disappointment of fans following Gilas’ early exit in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Game where the team failed to defend the gold medal.

But the former Gilas captain said it’s better to focus now on working on the team’s improvement rather than point fingers.

“It’s tough. Of course, I think we’re all connected to Gilas. I think we all would have loved to see them perform better, but they tried their best. And sometimes, things like that happen. But we have to just find a way to continue to improve moving forward,” Alapag said.

“At the end of the day, it’s still a huge honor to represent the country. And I applaud those players in the middle of the PBA season to still dedicate their time and give their best effort. But, of course, at the end of the day, we fell short,” he added.

“So, it’s important now to try to find ways that we can improve. But I think those guys and the players and the staff should still be applauded for doing their best to represent the country.”