Philippine basketball

No goodbyes: Alapag says he will come back to PH

Delfin Dioquino

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Gilas Pilipinas icon Jimmy Alapag vows to bring the coaching lessons he will learn in the US to the Philippines

PBA great Jimmy Alapag said he will go back to the Philippines in the future, clarifying that his move to the United States is not permanent.

Alapag left the country with his wife, actress LJ Moreno, and their children, Ian Maximus, Keona Skye, and Calen Asher, as the coronavirus pandemic forced their family to “change course.”

“For us, this is not goodbye,” Alapag said in an emotional vlog on their YouTube channel. “Our hearts will always be in the Philippines.”

“This was a decision that LJ and I did not just make in haste like okay, we’re leaving. It was something that we talked about often. All the signs pointed to come here, to be closer to family.”

The head coach for Alab Pilipinas and deputy for the San Miguel Beermen, Alapag seeks to continue coaching in the US as agent Charlie Dy bared the Gilas Pilipinas icon sent his resumé to a number of NBA teams.

Alapag already experienced coaching in the NBA after joining the Sacramento Kings’ coaching staff for the Summer League last year.

Once he and his family decides to return, the former PBA MVP vowed to bring the lessons he will learn in the US to the Philippines.

“I know how much of a blessing the game has been on my life. I want to be able to pay it forward even more when I go back and [when] we do come back home,” Alapag said.

Leaving the US in the early 2000s to pursue basketball in the Philippines, Alapag ended his career as one of the most revered players in the country.

He earned a spot in the 40 Greatest PBA Players and keyed Gilas Pilipinas in its return to the FIBA World Cup after a 36-year absence.

“It was the absolute best decision of my life to go to the Philippines and go home,” the 42-year-old said. – Rappler.com

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Delfin Dioquino

Delfin Dioquino dreamt of being a PBA player, but he did not have the skills to make it. So he pursued the next best thing to being an athlete – to write about them. He took up journalism at the University of Santo Tomas and joined Rappler as soon as he graduated in 2017.