Jimmy Alapag
From Hoopedia
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| Team | Talk 'N Text Phone Pals | |
| Position | Point Guard | |
| Height | 5 ft 9 | |
| Weight | 165 lbs | |
| Born | December 30, 1977 in Los Angeles, CA | |
| College | California State University, San Bernardino | |
| Drafted | 10th overall in the 2003 by the Talk 'N Text Phone Pals | |
| Years Pro | 4 | |
Jim "Jimmy" Alapag is a 5 ft 9 (1.75 m) and 165 lb (75 kg) point guard who is a Filipino-American professional basketball player for the Talk 'N Text Phone Pals in the Philippine Basketball Association. He is the starting point guard of the team and was named the 2003 PBA Rookie of the Year, where he led the Phone Pals to the All-Filipino Championship.
He has been a part of the Philippine national basketball team since 2002 as a member of the RP training pool for 2002 Asian Games. He currently plays for the National Pool under Coach Chot Reyes.
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NCAA career
Jimmy Alapag played for San Bernardino State, where he was a consistent threat during 1999-2000 season from the three point line. He had a game-high of 4.7 assist per game, good for #6 on the San Bernardino all-time list. During his NCAA Career, he was selected second team NABC All-Region in the NCAA Division II West Region.
2002 RP Training Pool
In 2002, the Philippine National Team composed mainly of PBA players were formed for the Asian Games in Busan, South Korea. Alapag was discovered in the United States and was sent to the country as part of the pool. He made his debut during a 2002 PBA Governors Cup game for the Selecta RP Team, one of two RP Pool team that played in the said conference. However, in his only game as a non-PBA player, he suffered an injury and was eventually cut from the pool.
PBA career
After spending the last few months in the US and the Philippines, he applied for the 2003 PBA Draft, one of the deepest pools in history composed of players from the UAAP, NCAA and players from the Philippine Basketball League and the defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association.
Expected to be selected in the top five, he was selected in the latter portion of the first round by Talk N Text. With the selection, the Phone Pals added a point guard that that hampered the team for the last few years.
In his first season, Alapag shared a tandem with star Asi Taulava and led the Phone Pals all the way to the 2003 PBA All-Filipino Cup championship with a 4-2 victory over the Coca-Cola Tigers.
After the championship, he continues his brilliant play as the Phone Pals' starting point guard and was named the Rookie of the Year at season's end. He also played in the All-Star Game as a rookie for the Commissioners team.
As a rookie, he was also named to the PBA Mythical Team.
In the 2004-05 season, Alapag would lead Talk N Text to two finals appearance and shared co-MVP honors with teammate Taulava in the All-Star Game in Cebu as the South All-Stars defeated the North.
His consistent play continued in the 2005-06 season despite Talk N Text failing to enter the finals. He played in the 2005 All-Star Game in Ilocos Norte and the 2006 edition in Cagayan de Oro.
Philippine National Team
Jimmy played for Team Pilipinas in the 2005 FIBA Asia Champions Cup and the 2005 Brunei Cup when they won the title. In 2006, he played during the exhibition game against a Dennis Rodman-led US team and against the Lebanon national team.
Alapag is now a mainstay in the national team which competed in the Olympic-qualifier FIBA Asia Championship 2007.
