Filipino basketball legend Jimmy Alapag has been named an assistant coach of the Stockton Kings, bringing him a step closer to his dream of coaching in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

The Stockton Kings are the G League affiliate of the Sacramento Kings. The team made Alapag’s hiring known in an official statement that was released on Tuesday morning. Alapag will be working under former Kings standout Bobby Jackson, whom he recently collaborated with to steer the Sacramento Kings to the Las Vegas Summer League championship.

This feat is the latest feather in the cap of the man known as the “Mighty Mouse.” After a stellar playing career that spanned 14 years in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), the 2011 PBA MVP quickly transitioned to coaching and was an assistant with the San Miguel Beermen and a head coach of the Alab Pilipinas, which he led to the ASEAN Basketball League championship in 2018.

Alapag, though, moved back to the United States with his family during the pandemic, paving the way for him to pursue a coaching job in the NBA. JNP