The Final Score: Jimmy Alapag’s parents saw something familiar in Game 3

 

The Alapags knew the drill: wear yellow, support Talk ‘N Text and wait for their “bunso” to do something special near the end of games.

 

With 8:42 left in the fourth quarter, Talk ‘N Text down by four, Jimmy slipped behind a pick by teammate Kelly Williams, left the defense of Chris Tiu, used a head-and-shoulder move to freeze the much-taller but much-slower JR Quiñahan and take a three-pointer. Swish.

 

The Jimmy we know, the man who smoothly makes shots under torturous pressure, is the same Jimmy they know. But we’ve only seen this Jimmy for the last ten years. Crispin and Aurora have been watching Jimmy win games for much longer.

 

“Even when he was in elementary, in high school and in college, he was always deadly from the three-point line,” Crispin shared. “Every time he had a game in college, he always makes three's during the last seconds. That’s why they win.”

 

Crispin, 74, and Aurora, 67, both live in the United States. To watch Jimmy play in the Finals, they fly from Indiana to Chicago, then Chicago to Los Angeles, then Los Angeles to Guam, and then Guam to Manila. With yellow shirts and blouses in their luggage. With memories of Jimmy’s past Finals performances in their minds. 25 long hours in the air. Parents, no matter how young or old, do crazy things to support their children.

 

With 3:59 left in the game, the score tied at 76, Jimmy waited for Harvey Carey to set the pick. Carey sprinted towards Jimmy, effectively erasing Gabe Norwood from Jimmy’s line of sight. Alapag quickly realized that Carey’s defender got lost in the play. Jimmy took two dribbles to his left. It was a wide-open three in a critical part of the game: a Jimmy Alapag special. Crispin, Aurora and even Harvey have seen this before. Jimmy knocked it down.

 

“Every time Jimmy’s team [Cal State San Bernardino] played Harvey’s team [Sonoma State] in Jimmy’s university, Harvey’s team always lost at the buzzer because of Jimmy’s three point shot,” Aurora recalled. “Then, when Jimmy plays Harvey’s team in Harvey’s university, Jimmy’s team still wins. People told Jimmy to no longer go to Sonoma because Jimmy is the Sonoma killer (laughs).”

 

With 3:16 left in the game, Talk ‘N Text leading 79-76, Jayson Castro had the ball on a 2-on-1 fastbreak. Castro saw Alapag in perfect shooting position at the deep right corner. Rain or Shine players helplessly saw it too. Crispin and Aurora have seen this too many times to even count. Jayson fired the pass. Jimmy received the ball and launched another three point shot. Bang!

 

“I knew he could do it,” Crispin said. “If you give him space, he’s going to make it.” -- GMA News