Jim Olmedo Alapag (born December 30, 1977) is a Filipino-American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He serves as an assistant coach for the Stockton Kings of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

. He is nicknamed "The Mighty Mouse" and "The Captain".

Early life and amateur career

Alapag is the youngest of six siblings, and his parents are both Filipino immigrants from Leyte. He was born and raised in San Bernardino, California. He said his greatest influence in playing basketball was his father and older brother Crispin. He started playing basketball at the age of 3. He played collegiate basketball at California State University, San Bernardino, where he established himself as a clutch three-point shooter. In 2002, he had his first crack of Philippine basketball when he was invited by then-national team coach

Jong Uichico Joseph Enrique Uichico (born July 15, 1962), better known as Jong Uichico, is a Filipino professional basketball coach who last coached the Bataan Risers in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League. Uichico is a former Philippine national team Y ...

to try out for the Philippine National Team bound for

2002 Asian Games The 2002 Asian Games ( ko, 2002년 아시아 경기대회/2002년 아시안 게임, Icheoni-nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Icheoni-nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the XIV Asian Games ( ko, 제14회 아시아 경기대회/제14회 아시안 � ...

in Busan, South Korea.

Professional career

2003: Rookie season

Alapag was selected 10th overall pick in the

2003 PBA draft The 2003 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) rookie draft was an event at which teams drafted players from the amateur ranks. It was held on January 12, 2003 at the Glorietta Activity Center at Makati. Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 San Mig ...

by the Talk 'N Text Phone Pals and was considered the "steal of the draft". Later on, Alapag and slotman

Asi Taulava Pauliasi Taulava (born March 2, 1973) is a Tongan-born Filipino professional basketball player for the NLEX Road Warriors of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He is the oldest active player in the league. Standing 6 ft 9 in (2 ...

led the Phone Pals to the All-Filipino Cup Championship by beating the

Coca-Cola Tigers Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

in the finals, after overcoming the 0–2 deficit to the Tigers and winning the last four games in the series to capture its first ever title. At the end of the 2003 season, he won the Rookie of the Year award by a huge margin after averaging 14.5 points, 7.02 assists and 6.54 rebounds per outing while shooting 35.4 percent from the three-point region.

2004–05 season

In the 2004–05 PBA season, Alapag won his second mythical first team selection and co-MVP honors with teammate Taulava in the All-Star Game held in Cebu. He also led the Phone Pals to two straight Finals appearance but failed to win another championship against the Barangay Ginebra Kings in the Philippine Cup and against

San Miguel Beermen The San Miguel Beermen are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). It is one of three PBA clubs owned by the San Miguel Corporation group of companies along with the Magnolia Hotshots and Barangay Ginebra ...

in the Fiesta Conference.

2008–2011 seasons

In the 2008–09 PBA Philippine Cup Finals, Alapag would add another championship ring by helping the Tropang Texters vanquish the Alaska Aces in a seven-game series. He did the same trick in the 2010–11 PBA Philippine Cup Finals against San Miguel after beating the Beermen 4 games to 2 and shared the Finals MVP honors with Jayson Castro. In the 2011 PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals, he once again led the Tropang Texters to their back-to-back championships against Brgy. Ginebra, with him and Jayson Castro again both awarded as co-finals MVP. His team made it again in the

2011 PBA Governors' Cup Finals The 2011 PBA Governors Cup Finals was the best-of-7 championship series of the 2011 PBA Governors Cup, and the conclusion of the conference's playoffs. The Petron Blaze Boosters defeated the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters in seven games to win the ...

only to lose to the Petron Blaze Boosters in seven games. At season's end, he was minted as the season's Most Valuable Player, beating the likes of Arwind Santos and

Mark Caguioa Mark Anthony Yu Caguioa (born November 19, 1979) is a Filipino professional basketball player who last played for the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Known as The Spark and as MC47 from his initials an ...

in the MVP race.

2011–2014 and retirement

In the 2011–12 PBA Philippine Cup, Alapag beat their nemesis, Petron Blaze in seven games after overcoming 1–3 deficit in their best-of-seven semi-final series. In the Finals game, his team successfully defended the Philippine Cup trophy by beating the

Gary David Gary Ocampo David (born July 13, 1978) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Pampanga Giant Lanterns of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He is a five-time All-Star and co-holds the longest streak for consecutiv ...

-led

Powerade Tigers The Powerade Tigers were a professional basketball team that played in the Philippine Basketball Association from 2002 to 2012. The franchise was owned by Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc. (CCBPI) when the company acquired Cosmos Bottling Co ...

, four games to one. In

2012 PBA Commissioner's Cup The 2012 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner's Cup was the second conference of the 2011–12 PBA season. The tournament began on February 10 and ended on May 6, 2012. The tournament is an import-laden format, which means that a ...

, the Tropang Texters again advanced to the Finals against the

B-Meg Derby Ace Llamados The Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots, or simply known as the Magnolia Hotshots, are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association. The team is owned by San Miguel Food and Beverage, Inc., a subsidiary of San Migue ...

, only to lose the series in seven games. In the 2012–13 PBA Philippine Cup Finals he led the Texters sweep the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters four games to none and retain the Philippine Cup for the third time (they also took permanent possession of the Jun Bernardino Trophy). On December 23, 2014, he passed

Ronnie Magsanoc Ronald "Ronnie" Magsanoc (born April 11, 1966) is a Filipino coach, basketball analyst, and retired professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was known for his moniker "The Point Laureate". Collegiate car ...

to move to No. 2 behind

Allan Caidic Allan Vito Flores Caidic (born June 15, 1963) is a Filipino former professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association. He is considered by many to be the greatest shooter the country has ever produced, thus, earning the mon ...

in the all-time three-point list with 1,172 three point field goals made. On January 9, 2015, he formally announced his retirement during a press conference at the

Smart Araneta Coliseum The Araneta Coliseum, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as Smart Araneta Coliseum, is an indoor multi-purpose arena, sports arena that is part of the Araneta City in the Cubao area of Quezon City, Philippines. Nicknamed as "the ...

prior to the second game of the

2014–15 PBA Philippine Cup Finals The 2014–15 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup Finals was the best-of-7 championship series of the 2014–15 PBA Philippine Cup, and the conclusion of the conference's playoffs. The San Miguel Beermen and the Alaska Aces ...

between the Alaska Aces and the

. His #3 jersey was retired by Talk 'N Text on March 8, 2015, during halftime of the 2015 PBA All-Star Game. He now serves as the Gilas Pilipinas assistant coach and served as the Tropang Texters' team manager. He was also appointed as a member of the FIBA Players Commission which will serve from 2014 to 2019. For his supposed final PBA game, he played for the South All-Star Team for 2015 PBA All Star. He scored 12 points and dished out 14 assists.

Coming out of retirement and return to basketball

On August 7, 2015, Alapag came out of retirement and was traded by the

Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters The TNT (cellular service), TNT Tropang Giga is a professional basketball team currently owned by Smart Communications, a subsidiary of the PLDT, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), playing in the Philippine Basketball Associat ...

to the

Blackwater Elite The Blackwater Bossing is a professional basketball team owned by Ever Bilena, Inc. that is playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) beginning in the 2014–2015 season. The franchise began as one of the founding teams in the PB ...

in exchange for Larry Rodriguez and then to the

Meralco Bolts The Meralco Bolts is a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association. The team began in 2010 after the Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) acquired the PBA franchise of the Sta. Lucia Realtors. The team is one of three ...

for

Mike Cortez Mike Salonga Cortez (born November 10, 1980) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player. He last played for the Blackwater Elite of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Cortez gained prominence in the amateur ranks for ...

and

James Sena James Ryan R. Sena (born August 31, 1988) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Blackwater Bossing of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Sena played collegiate basketball at Jose Rizal University, JRU JRU Heavy Bombers, H ...

. He signed a two-year deal with the Meralco Bolts worth P10.08 million.

Formal retirement in the PBA

On November 3, 2016, Alapag announced in a

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

video by Alaska Aces player

Eric Menk Eric Conrad Menk (born August 24, 1974) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player who played in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and the Asean Basketball League. Known as Major Pain, Menk is a four-time PBA champion ...

that he will no longer play for the Meralco Bolts in the 2016–17 PBA season hence his formal retirement in the PBA at the age of 39, after playing for 13 years for the Talk N' Text and Meralco teams.

Coaching career

Gilas Pilipinas, Talk 'N Text, Meralco, and San Miguel

After retiring from international basketball, Alapag was quickly tapped by then-Gilas Pilipinas head coach

Tab Baldwin Thomas Anthony "Tab" Baldwin (born 16 May 1958) is an American-New Zealand basketball coach who currently serves as the head of the Gilas Pilipinas Youth national basketball program and head coach for the Ateneo Blue Eagles of the University A ...

as one of the team's assistant coaches. Alapag also served as an assistant coach and team consultant at the

and

. In 2019, he became one of the assistant coaches for the San Miguel Beermen.

Alab Pilipinas

On August 12, 2017, Alapag announced through his

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

account that he will be the new head coach for

Alab Pilipinas San Miguel Alab Pilipinas (under the corporate name Pilipinas Basketball Club, Inc. or PBCI) is a Filipino professional basketball team which played in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) under the sponsorship of San Miguel Corporation. The team i ...

of the

ASEAN Basketball League The ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) is a professional men's basketball league in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong/Macau, which includes six teams from Southeast Asian nations (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), one tea ...

. This was Alapag's first major coaching role since his retirement from basketball. He coached his team to the Finals, defeating the

Mono Vampire Basketball Club The Mono Vampire Basketball Club () is a Thai basketball team that previously played in the ASEAN Basketball League. They have also participated at the Thailand Basketball League. It is owned by Mono Group, a Thai media and technology conglom ...

of Thailand in five games, and winning his first ABL championship. In his second season, they failed to defend their title, falling to the Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions in the playoffs. In his third season, Alab had a 10-6 record before the ABL season was canceled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. He then left for the US and Alab has yet to announce a new head coach.

Sacramento and Stockton Kings

In 2019, Alapag reached out to the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

' general manager

Vlade Divac Vlade Divac ( sr-Cyrl, Владе Дивац, ; born February 3, 1968) is a Serbian professional basketball executive and former player who was most recently the vice president of basketball operations and general manager of the Sacramento Kings ...

for a coaching opportunity. Divac offered him a position to help coach the Summer League squad, which he accepted. He didn't coach the next season due to the Stockton Kings not fielding a G-League team for that season, but returned the next season to be an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings Summer League team, where they won the 2021 Summer League championship. He was then named as an assistant coach for the Stockton Kings following their successful Summer League campaign.

National team career

Alapag first saw action for the Philippines national team in the

2007 FIBA Asia Championship The 2007 FIBA Asia Championship for Men was the qualifying tournament for FIBA Asia at the men's basketball tournament at the 2008 Summer Olympics at Beijing. The tournament was held in Tokushima, Japan from July 28 to August 5, 2007. Particip ...

Tokushima, Japan is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 728,633 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,146 km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the north ...

where they finished 9th overall. He returned to action in the FIBA Asia Cup 2011 in Wuhan, China, where this time, he helped guide a young Gilas Pilipinas to the top 4. In 2013, he helped Gilas win a silver medal in the Fiba Asia championship, qualifying them for the

2014 FIBA World Cup The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 17th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the tournament previously known as the FIBA World Championship. Hosted by Spain, it was the last tournament to be held on the then-current four-year cycle ...

, with him hitting a clutch three-pointer in their game against South Korea. Alapag played his first

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

stint in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. He helped his team to win its first World Cup victory for the first time in 40 years, beating

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

. Despite his announcement of retiring from the national team after playing in the world cup, he accepted another offer after

Jayson Castro Jayson Castro William (born June 30, 1986) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the TNT Tropang Giga of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). His moniker is "The Blur" for his speed. He played for the Philippine Christian Un ...

was declared unable to play for the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

in Incheon. During the tournament, the national team was expected to win gold because of their performance in the World Cup, but they lost three games in a row against

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

, and the host,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, respectively. At the end of the tournament, he retired from international basketball.

PBA career statistics

Season-by-season averages

, - , align=left , , align=left ,

Talk 'N Text TNT (formerly known as Piltel, Mobiline, Phone Pal, and still unofficially known as Talk 'N Text) is a cellular service of Smart Communications in the Philippines. By April 2000, Piltel launched its GSM brand, Talk 'N Text. Piltel also reporte ...

, 54 , , 37.6 , , .222 , , .354 , , .753 , , 6.5 , , 7.0 , , .9 , , .0 , , 14.5 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 77 , , 34.0 , , .407 , , .360 , , .764 , , 5.5 , , 5.8 , , .6 , , .0 , , 14.3 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 41 , , 35.2 , , .382 , , .335 , , .786 , , 5.4 , , 8.1 , , .6 , , .0 , , 13.1 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 28 , , 31.2 , , .420 , , .347 , , .741 , , 4.9 , , 6.9 , , .5 , , .0 , , 11.5 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 39 , , 30.8 , , .421 , , .361 , , .797 , , 6.0 , , 5.9 , , .6 , , .0 , , 13.5 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 46 , , 31.8 , , .412 , , .406 , , .823 , , 3.8 , , 5.0 , , .7 , , .0 , , 14.9 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 47 , , 32.1 , , .333 , , .360 , , .826 , , 2.6 , , 6.5 , , .5 , , .0 , , 14.0 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 63 , , 30.3 , , .379 , , .349 , , .841 , , 2.9 , , 5.4 , , .5 , , .0 , , 12.4 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 52 , , 28.1 , , .383 , , .348 , , .769 , , 2.4 , , 5.5 , , .3 , , .0 , , 10.7 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 49 , , 26.4 , , .396 , , .370 , , .878 , , 1.9 , , 4.8 , , .4 , , .0 , , 10.2 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 46 , , 25.6 , , .380 , , .324 , , .896 , , 2.1 , , 4.5 , , .3 , , .0 , , 8.3 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 12 , , 15.3 , , .543 , , .485 , , .929 , , 2.2 , , 2.3 , , .6 , , .0 , , 6.6 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

Meralco The Manila Electric Company (), also known as Meralco (, ), is an electric power distribution company in the Philippines. It is Metro Manila's only electric power distributor and holds the power distribution franchise for 22 cities and 89 munic ...

, 47 , , 22.5 , , .410 , , .367 , , .833 , , 1.6 , , 4.0 , , .4 , , .0 , , 7.5 , -class=sortbottom , align=center colspan=2 , Career , 601 , , 30.3 , , .374 , , .360 , , .803 , , 3.8 , , 5.7 , , .5 , , .0 , , 12.1

Playing style

Alapag is known for his three-point shooting, play-making, and decision-making during clutch moments. Despite his size, Alapag takes advantage of his speed and agility against defenders.

Personal life

Alapag's parents are Filipino immigrants Crispin and Aurora Alapag. He's the youngest of six siblings. He considers his father as well as his elder brother Crispin Jr. as his two greatest influences in basketball. He is currently married to Filipina actress LJ Moreno, with whom he has three children, Ian Maximus, Keona Skye, and Calen Asher.

References

External links

PBA.ph: Jimmy Alapag Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alapag, Jimmy 1977 births Living people American sportspeople of Filipino descent ASEAN Basketball League coaches Basketball players at the 2014 Asian Games Basketball players from California Cal State San Bernardino Coyotes men's basketball players Citizens of the Philippines through descent Filipino men's basketball coaches Meralco Bolts players Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars San Miguel Beermen coaches Philippine Basketball Association players with retired numbers Philippines men's national basketball team players Filipino men's basketball players Point guards Sportspeople from San Bernardino, California TNT Tropang Giga players San Miguel Alab Pilipinas 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup players American men's basketball players Asian Games competitors for the Philippines TNT Tropang Giga draft picks Stockton Kings coaches