O Captain! My Captain!

#ThankYouJimmy

"O Captain! My Captain! Our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people are all exalting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring,"

Write no sad poetry as Walt Whitman for one Jimmy Alapag-- the man who has brought glory to the Philippines through the sport of basketball despite standing 5"9 in a sport dominated by 6"0 point guards and above. Yesterday he announced his retirement in near quiet fashion, being given a press conference in the middle of an action-packed PBA Finals, when his resume would demand at least an hour-long sit down interview with daresay the most popular talk show host today Vice Ganda, erm, Boy Abunda.

We still remember the young Alapag, back when he was brought in for a tryout by now Talk'n'Text head coach Jong Uichico for the national team in 2002. He injured his hand before he could even make an impact with the training pool, so we had to wait another year to see just how good he really was at the time. His stock dropped so bad, that he went 10th in the 2003 PBA Draft wherein a bunch of now long established role/ bit players and forgotten names went ahead of him.

He was asked to man the point and make sure that a certain 6"9 Fil-Tonggan was able to get the ball in his favorite spots. People back then had another Fil-Am point guard ahead of Alapag in terms of skillset-- Mike Cortez (the whole Cool Cat vs Mighty Mouse thing that didn't last very long), but Alapag was sure to quickly close the gap and even the discussion by averaging a steady 13 ppg, 6 apg, 4 rpg in 32 mpg while shooting 36% from three and 37% from two his entire career.

How good was Alapag? Well, he was able to separate himself from other point guards of his generation-- Cortez, the aging Olsen Racela, Jimwell Torion, Jayjay Helterbrand and so on. Of the lot, he was the guy who you knew was pass-first and all about the team but also didn't have any problems knocking down a cold-blooded killer three to seal the game or knockdown a Hail Mary to keep the Texters in games.

He was so good, that even a FIBA Asia superstar, Lebanon's Fadi El Khatib credited him as being the Best in Asia (pre-Mehdi Kamrani and Jayson Castro of course).

We all know what Alapag did for flag and country the last two or three years. We all know that he has won 6 championships in 11 seasons playing with heart, pride and other-worldly work ethic. We all know how good Alapag is.

But perhaps what some people don't know, or seem to have forgotten, is how Alapag was left out of the 2009 Pilipinas National Team in hopes of forming a "taller" backcourt (which backfired when then youngster and now Alapag teammate/ underling Ryan Reyes and Jayjay Helterbrand were injured, leaving Willie Miller as the only one to man the job) and yet didn't go rambling about or ranting through media which is quite the norm nowadays.

No, classy as ever, Alapag took it in stride. Every one knew when that team started to fall apart what we were missing. When the young SMART Gilas was formed, we were all searching for a leader. And when the PBA players were brought in to reinforce it, Alapag's name was the first to be written down-- etched in stone even, to be part of the roster no matter who else is available at the point guard spot.

So how did Alapag end his PBA career?

December 26, 2014. Talk'n'Text vs San Miguel. Game Four of their PBA Philippine Cup Semifinals series, wherein the Texters were already down to a hopeless 0-3 deficit.

Team highs of 32 minutes and 17 points to go along with 7 rebounds and 2 assists, The team lost 87-100, but Alapag showed, in what would be his last game, how professional basketball players who love the sport and wear their team colors with pride should go out-- fighting. Fighting to the last minute. And when the scores at the end are not in your favor, then accept it like a man and move forward at peace, knowing that you fought valiantly with everything you had.

Now we see Alapag retiring, just a few threes away from being number 1 ever in the PBA as per PBA statistics genius Fidel Mangonon. Dousing cold water on all our hopes and wishes for a mini "reunion" with NLEX Road Warriors' big man Asi Taulava for that proverbial "one last run."  Retiring just in time to ensure that the keys to the team are handed to Castro, Reyes and newcomer Kevin Louie Alas. To let them grow as players and individuals while still being on hand (as TNT team manager) to nurture and guide them.

Now, Alapag joins the Gilas 3.0 team as one of head coach Tab Baldwin's assistants.

Who knows, maybe one day, Alapag will have the opportunity to call the shots for Gilas, much like some feared and respected Asian superstars did for their countries after hanging up their boots.

#ThankYouJimmy