Alapag mulls to join Cone, Gilas Pilipinas OQT bid?

IN a recent online interview with Jimmy Alapag, former Talk & Text swingman, Gilas Pilipinas player and now a member of the coaching staff of the Sacramento Kings in the NBA, hinted an intention to lend his time and gained expertise to be part of coach Tim Cone's bench tacticians when the Nationals shoot for a slot in the coming Olympic Qualifying Tournament in July slated in Riga, Latvia.

Though the former PBA court general made the pronouncement when Cone wasn't Gilas Pilipinas head coach yet, but he also mention he's absolutely open to it, and if somebody would reach out.

This opportunity would certainly give a boost to Cone and Gilas Pilipinas' bid in the said Olympic qualification and shouldn't be missed or ignored by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) hierarchy and other basketball stakeholders.

Alapag, who was born and raised in America, played for Talk & Text in the PBA for 10 seasons and became as a pioneering player of the Gilas program when it was instituted in 2010. He is also part of the National team that finally broke the Korean jinx during the FIBA Asia Cup hosted by country in 2014. The Philippines dramatic victory againt South Korea, 84-79. Sent Gilas-Pilipinas back in the World Cup stage.

The said opportunity is most likely to happen should SBP officials would really exert all the necessary efforts, the way they've done to Jordan Clarkson, whom they're able to convince him to play for Gilas during World Cup qualification round and the World Cup proper itself mainly hosted the country last year.

Although nothing definite yet, in my humble opinion and I believe most basketball enthusiast would agree having Jimmy Alapag as Cone's assistant would really be a big, big morale booster. Alapag's expertise would also give a big shot in the arm to the four-year program as laid out by the PBA's winningest coach, which is aim at sending the country back in Olympic arena.

The very last time a Philippine qualified to play in the Olympics, was in 1972 in Munich, Germany where the country placed 13th in the field of 20. The former Soviet Union won the gold medal for the first time and broke the Americans' dominance of the Olympic basketball and was said to be marred by a controversy.

Aside from Alapag's gained expertise as member the Sacramento Kings, is his availability to join Gilas Pilipinas?, I believed he would available himself by the time the Nationals start it's 10-day training on the 22nd of June, since the Kings didn't make to the ongoing playoffs and Cone's Gilas assistant coach in Richard del Rosario has been appointed as team manager of Ginebra San Miguel.

After the short training camp at Inspired Academy in Calamba, Laguna, Gilas Pilipinas is to set to fly to Europe on the 26th of June kicking off the second phase of its' build-up wherein the nationals have been invited to have series of tune-up matches against the top teams, most likely Lithuania and possibly Serbia, before proceeding to Latvia for the OQT qualification round scheduled from July 2 to 7.