Making a point: The
1-2 punch of court generals
by rick olivares
With all the attention that current Philippine Cup
frontrunners Petron and Ginebra are receiving (aside from all the strong play
of this year’s rookie crop), lost in the shuffle is that venerable point guard
duo for Talk ‘N Text that is Jimmy Alapag and Jayson Castro.
Castro is tops in the Philippine Cup in scoring with
a 19.83 average while Alapag is 31st on the list after pouring in
11.33 points an outing.
The partnership between the two – now on its sixth
year -- has been one of the keys to the success of the Talk ‘N Text Tropang
Texters.
According to TNT assistant coach Sandy Arespacochaga,
one of the secrets to their success is of their team is the collective selflessness.
“And it all starts with our captain – Jimmy – and our other court general,
Jayson Castro.”
They do not mind who starts. They don’t really care.
In fact, Jayson prefers to come off the bench while Jimmy doesn’t mind Jayson
taking more of the scoring load for the team.”
For his part, Alapag, the 11-year veteran emphasized
the selfless attitude that they have all adopted for the common good. “I have
no problem handing over the reins to Jayson,” he underscored. “The whole point
is to get the ‘W’ and to win a championship. We can all score a ton of points
but if we don’t win then it doesn’t really count for much. It was very much
like when I first came to Talk ‘N Text. There was Patrick Fran and Donbel
Belano. I had to earn work my way into the rotation.”
Alapag stresses the need for accountability. “When
you take accountability for all that you do -- both right or wrong -- on the
court then the others will follow your lead. If I don’t make a good play then
Jayson or Ryan (Reyes, the other combo guard who is equally an important part
of TNT’s success) can tell me, ‘maybe you should do it this way’ and vice
versa. And it’s the same for the rest of us. There’s no room for anyone’s ego
in this team.”
The point guard duo of Alapag and Castro are a
handful to guard. They can torch opposing teams from the outside and drive in
for a strong lay-up against the oak tree centers of the league.
In their six years together, the two have combined
for 24.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 9.1 assists per game. And the duo has won
five championships in their time together in Talk ‘N Text. “Sana meron pa
kaming mapapanalunan,” wished the mild-mannered Castro.
They are the most successful point guard duo since
the 1-2 punch of Johnny Abbarientos and Jun Reyes who won eight titles with
Alaska in six seasons.
Reyes reflected on his run with the man called ‘the
Flying A’: “Practices for me were harder than the games. That is because I was
guarding the best point guard in practices every day. It made guarding other
point guards easier.”
The duo’s finest hour was in 1996 when they led
Alaska to a Grand Slam (they also won 10 championships together). Abbarientos
was named league MVP while Reyes was voted as ‘Mr. Quality Minutes.’
However, Reyes points to another long-running point
guard team. That of the San Miguel Beermen’s Hector Calma and Franz Pumaren.
Both played for nine years for San Miguel while
winning a bunch of titles.
“For me,” said Reyes of the Calma-Pumaren duo, “they
were the best. They complimented each other well. Hec was poised, very cerebral
and a perimeter player while Franz was rugged and physical and could shoot from
long range. They almost had equal playing time and their team’s level of play
never faltered.”
“It’s good to be mentioned in the same sentence as
those guys (Abbarientos-Reyes and Calma-Pumaren),” said Alapag. “But that’s
really something we can both look back later on when our careers are done.
Right now, defending the All-Filipino championship for a third time while going
four a four-peat is a handful. It’s a challenge, I’ll say.”
Concluded Arespacochaga, “With Jimmy and Jason (Ryan
Reyes is still out with an injury), they give us a chance to win on any day.
And hopefully, a fourth consecutive Philippine Cup championship.”
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