CHOT Reyes once said that his former prized playmaker and PBA great Jimmy Alapag has what it takes to be a great coach.
Reyes’ words are fast turning out to be true.
Alapag is keeping his fingers crossed his stint as assistant coach with Sacramento in the NBA Summer League would land him an actual job with the Kings.
“I hope I’m closer. I have a meeting this weekend with the general manager Monte McNair, Paul Johnson, and coach Bobby Jackson,” Alapag said last Saturday on Radyo5 92.3 News FM’s Power and Play program hosted by former PBA Commissioner NoliEala.
“We’ll see what happens,” he added.
After his baptism of fire as a deputy coach in the Summer League in 2019 with the same squad, Alapag, 43, said he was more involved in Sacramento’s campaign this year when it won the Summer League title.
Those two stints were different.
“My first experience with the Kings, I was coming in and didn’t know anybody. I just took that as an opportunity to be there, take notes, listen, and really get a feel of being in that NBA space as a coach,” Alapag said.
“I think the biggest difference now was I had a much more engaging role as an assistant coach in terms of game preparation, scouting, video, and everything else. It was awesome to have an active voice with coach Bobby Jackson and the rest of the staff. It was a lot of fun, lot of work, but we got a great group of guys, and it was great to see them rewarded with the work we put in.”
The former Gilas Pilipinas skipper is hoping he has proven he has what it takes.
