Alapag wants NLEx to keep current speed

Getting off to a 6-0 (win-loss) start to kick off his PBA coaching career is nice and dandy for NLEx’s Jimmy Alapag, who is asking his team to keep its foot on the gas pedal in the Governors’ Cup.

“There’s still so much work to be done,” Alapag said.

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The Road Warriors start their second-round campaign in Group A on Friday, facing a Terrafirma Dyip side which has had two identities so far this conference: A team that can upset big guns and one that always seems to fall short.

The two teams square off at 5:15 p.m. at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, before Magnolia and Meralco meet at 7:30 p.m. in a crucial Group B affair.

Alapag has steered NLEx to new heights since returning to Manila following an NBA stint as a player development coach of the Sacramento Kings, with his recent conquest coming at the expense of his former coach Chot Reyes and his former team TNT, 88-83.

Alapag understands that there’s more work to be done despite becoming the first rookie mentor in PBA history to win his first six games.

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“This is a compliment to their work ethic and their competitive spirit, which is why we’re here right now,” Alapag said, praising his players for buying into the way he wants to run things.

NLEx has been somewhat cruising in the group stage, with four of those wins coming by double figures.

The closest the Road Warriors came to tasting defeat was against the Dyip, who erased a double-digit deficit and had a chance to win when import Justin Strings missed a potential go-ahead shot before the buzzer.

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It was one of many heartbreakers absorbed by Terrafirma, which holds a 2-4 record and is not far behind fourth-placer Converge.

Converge fell to 3-4, its fourth defeat in a row, after a 126-114 loss at the hands of San Miguel Beer late Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Meanwhile, Magnolia seeks to go 3-3 and tie Blackwater for third in Group B against a desperate Meralco side sitting at the bottom of Group B at 1-4.

Magnolia is coming off a rout of Barangay Ginebra, a result it hopes to capitalize on after a sluggish start to the conference.

Meralco, on the other hand, suffered an 85-83 defeat to Rain or Shine after blowing its lead in the fourth quarter.