ALAPAG – ‘IT STARTS WITH ME’
After Talk ‘N Text’s 91-105 defeat to Petron Blaze last December 28, team captain Jimmy Alapag expressed his disappointment, not on his teammates but on himself, as he took the blame for the loss.
“It starts with me,” the 5-foot-8 playmaker said. “I’m not playing anywhere near the level that I expected myself to lead this team.”
Alapag only had two points and four assists on 1-of-8 shooting from the field in 30 minutes of play, but he said that his recent knee injury is not the reason for his woeful performance.
“The knee is alright. My terrible play has nothing to do with my injury. I got to do better and I expect more of myself,” he said.
Though the Tropang Texters are still in the running for the twice-to-beat advantage in the quarters at 6-3, Alapag is not satisfied with how the team has played in their first nine games.
“I just think we haven’t played a complete game,” he said. “Even the games that we won last week, I thought we played good for 25, 30, sometimes 35 minutes, but we haven’t played a complete 48-minute game. That’s what we expect to do, but we have some work ahead. We welcome the break, get back to the gym, and be ready.”
The 10-year veteran said that he used the time off to reflect and hope that the new year can bring him out of his playing funk.
“I’m looking forward to the new year and a new start.” (RLeongson)
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