Jimmy Alapag said that the decision of moving to the United States together with his family is not a permanent one.
“We want to make it really clear that we’re not leaving for good,” Alapag said in a vlog posted on Saturday, the first since the family left the country Tuesday night.
Alapag made it clear after he saw articles saying that he, wife LJ Moreno and children Ian Maximus, Keona and Calen are staying in the US for good.
“I was a little bit disappointed by some of the articles because I haven’t spoken to anyone that said Jimmy Alapag and LJ Moreno have left for good because that’s absolutely not the case,” added Alapag, who was joined in the vlog by Moreno.
Alapag also ended a lengthy Instagram post that it's “never goodbye, just see you all again soon.”
But the Gilas Pilipinas legend also said that it took a lot of soul-searching before the family decided on starting a new chapter.
“It was a decision LJ and I didn’t just make in haste and just ‘Ok, we’re leaving,’” he said. “It was something that we talked about often. It was something that we talked about often. It was something that we prayed for even more.
“All of the signs pointed to come here, to be closer to the family, and at the same time, I know for myself with work, to continue to try and learn as a coach here,” Alapag added.
Alapag said prior to leaving that he is eyeing potential coaching opportunities in the NBA or G-League as one of the reasons for the possible US move.
The 2011 PBA Most Valuable Player also said the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic in the country coupled with the opportunity to be closer to their family also leaned heavily in their decision.
“With so many of us affected by this pandemic, I know it forced us as a family to kind of change course in terms of what our plans were as a family,” said Alapag.
“Going through everything these past few months, LJ and I talked about what would be the next step for our family, what’s gonna happen as far as the basketball landscape in Manila.
“Again with this pandemic, my dad just turned 82 this past June, it was important for both of us to be closer to the family so we came to a decision to move back here to the US for the meantime,” he added.