Jimmy Alapag’s journey

Jimmy Alapag took a gamble, sacrificed for his family, and has come out a winner, as usual. Choosing to leave the Philippines at the height of the pandemic with no clear job prospects, the six-time PBA champion knew the path ahead would be challenging. But his family would be better for it.

“Back in 2021, when the pandemic hit. It was a decision one, to be close to my parents. LJ’s mom is also here,” said the 2011 PBA MVP in an exclusive interview with The Star and dwAN 1206 AM. “During that time, kids weren’t allowed to be outside. And I didn’t want them to experience what was going on in Manila. That was a big part of the decision. And because at the time, there were no sports at any level.”

Jimmy, his wife LJ, and their three (now four) children packed up and headed Stateside. They had a supports system, and a lot of wide open spaces so their kids would not be cooped up. The only question now would be what path his career would take. But in his mind, it was also a chance to try to make it into the NBA. All in God’s time and God’s plan for the Alapag clan.

His only lead was a childhood friend who had been coaching junior college for over 20 years, who offered him a job. Soon after, things took a turn for the better. Prior to that, in 2018, after his second year of coaching Alab Pilipinas in the ASEAN Basketball League, he reached out to retired NBA center Vlade Divac about an internship with the Sacramento Kings. Divac introduced him to Bobby Jqckson and told the coach to take care of him. That led to seven weeks of traveling with the team. He started to build relationships which helped with the next step toward his goal.

“The entire seven weeks that I was there, my goodness, Coach Bobby and I were together every day,” recalls Mighty Mouse. “I was on the court with him, we were watching video, having lunch, having dinner, and really building a strong connection being two former point guards.”

Now, Jimmy was that much closer to his NBA dream. More in an upcoming column.

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The full interview with Jimmy Alapag will be broadcast on on “Hardball with Bill Velasco” over DWAN 1206 AM on Tuesday at 11 am.