It should be made clear that setting a record of having the most three-point shots made is the least of Jimmy Alapag's worries. In fact, he consider the chase more of a distraction than a rallying point for the Meralco Bolts.
Instead, Alapag downplays his shots countless of times and credits Chris Newsome for his triple that not only tied Allan Caidic record, but also gave the Bolts a crucial lead in regulation on the way to their 114-109 overtime win over Ginebra in Game One of the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals last 7 October.
Beating three Gin Kings for the offensive rebound, Newsome kicked the ball out to Alapag who knocked down a left-wing triple that gave them a 101-100 lead, before Allen Durham split his charities to negate an LA Tenorio floater that sent the game to OT.
"The big thing was Newsome's rebound because I was out there, kind of hanging by the three-point line and I saw him fight off three of the Ginebra guys and as soon as I saw him get the rebound, I screamed pretty loud that I was open," Alapag said. "Once he passed it to me, it’s a shot that I've taken millions of times. It was a shot we needed."
"We needed everything tonight," he added. "LA (Tenorio) was incredible, but our team's been resilient the whole season and even with his game-tying shot, we managed to kind of sustain our momentum in overtime."
That shot tied him with Caidic with 1,242 three-pointers, but that was the least of Alapag’s concerns.
"During the game, it's just trying to make shot to help us win," the former league MVP insisted. "You don't want to get caught up thinking about a record or anything else. It's just trying to win and, again, a lot of my three-point shots throughout my career, I've played with a lot of great players, coaches, and whether it's a great screen or an extra pass, it wasn’t all by myself. I’ve had a lot of help to get me those shots."
At least, he’s relieved to get it out of the way as he kept his sights on leading the Bolts in their hunt for a maiden league title.
"I hope so. The last thing I'd want it to be is a distraction for our team," Alapag said. "It's an incredible honor just to be mentioned with Allan Caidic and the last thing I'd want to do for our team is to be talking about the record and have us take our focus away from preparing for Ginebra on 9 October."
Instead, Alapag downplays his shots countless of times and credits Chris Newsome for his triple that not only tied Allan Caidic record, but also gave the Bolts a crucial lead in regulation on the way to their 114-109 overtime win over Ginebra in Game One of the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals last 7 October.
Beating three Gin Kings for the offensive rebound, Newsome kicked the ball out to Alapag who knocked down a left-wing triple that gave them a 101-100 lead, before Allen Durham split his charities to negate an LA Tenorio floater that sent the game to OT.
"The big thing was Newsome's rebound because I was out there, kind of hanging by the three-point line and I saw him fight off three of the Ginebra guys and as soon as I saw him get the rebound, I screamed pretty loud that I was open," Alapag said. "Once he passed it to me, it’s a shot that I've taken millions of times. It was a shot we needed."
"We needed everything tonight," he added. "LA (Tenorio) was incredible, but our team's been resilient the whole season and even with his game-tying shot, we managed to kind of sustain our momentum in overtime."
That shot tied him with Caidic with 1,242 three-pointers, but that was the least of Alapag’s concerns.
"During the game, it's just trying to make shot to help us win," the former league MVP insisted. "You don't want to get caught up thinking about a record or anything else. It's just trying to win and, again, a lot of my three-point shots throughout my career, I've played with a lot of great players, coaches, and whether it's a great screen or an extra pass, it wasn’t all by myself. I’ve had a lot of help to get me those shots."
At least, he’s relieved to get it out of the way as he kept his sights on leading the Bolts in their hunt for a maiden league title.
"I hope so. The last thing I'd want it to be is a distraction for our team," Alapag said. "It's an incredible honor just to be mentioned with Allan Caidic and the last thing I'd want to do for our team is to be talking about the record and have us take our focus away from preparing for Ginebra on 9 October."
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