Meralco's Jimmy Alapag passes while being defended by TNT's Jayson Castro. Arvin Lim, ABS-CBN Sports

MANILA, Philippines – With two minutes and 44 seconds left in Game 4 of the 2016 PBA Governor's Cup semifinals series between TNT KaTropa and Meralco, Jimmy Alapag perfectly read a pass by Jayson Castro and went for the steal.

Castro briefly hung his head in frustration before starting to run down the court, while Alapag frantically pushed the ball and rookie teammate Chris Newsome glided down as well, ready to catch any pass that the veteran point guard would issue.

Alapag's pass turned out to be more difficult than usual to catch, but the athletic Newsome still managed to convert it into an acrobatic lay-up. Meralco surged ahead, 83-76, with 2:38 left.

One possession later, Castro would be called for his second flagrant foul of the game after inadvertently elbowing Newsome on the mouth; in the first quarter of the game, he hit the rookie on the head as Newsome went for a lay-up.

"The Blur," the best point guard in Asia, was thrown out of the contest and without him, TNT's last ditch rally fell short. Meralco wound up with a 94-88 win to advance to the finals for the first time in the history of their franchise, and the next time that Alapag and Castro crossed paths, it was backstage at the Araneta Coliseum. They exchanged a hug and a few words and went their separate ways, with Castro declining to be interviewed while Alapag held court with the media for several minutes.

Alapag did not bother to deny that it was tough for him to have played TNT – the team he spent 12 years with – in the semifinals, and even tougher to have made history with Meralco at their expense.

"It's bittersweet, to be honest," he said. "On one side, half of me is so proud of our guys, so proud of everyone from Meralco. Having waited six years, where we came from the first conference…"

"Even for someone like myself, who has been lucky enough to have a lot of success in the PBA, it's been a process for our team, and that part of me is just so proud of the guys and so excited for them," he added.

At the same time, however, it was difficult for him to go up against the players whom he had "gone to wars" with for years – not just Castro, but Ranidel de Ocampo, Ryan Reyes, Harvey Carey, Larry Fonacier, and Kelly Williams as well.

"You don't go to the wars we've been through with my guys at Talk n Text and not forget that," Alapag said. "Those memories that we have there, I'd be telling that to my kids until they're 50 years old about what we did during my time there."

"To win a series like this against them… it's tough," he admitted. "You want to compete and fight just like you would when you're playing your brother."

"Again, I'm so proud of our guys at Meralco to have an opportunity like this, the first ever finals appearance," he said emphatically. "But again, it's still bittersweet."

It was especially difficult to have played against Castro, whom Alapag mentored in TNT and then played with not just in the PBA, but also with the Gilas Pilipinas national team.

"I'd like to think I have a little piece of his growth as a player," Alapag said of Castro. "You take someone who is incredibly talented but maintains that humility, has great work ethic about him – that's what we all see."

Alapag – who came out of retirement to play for Meralco last year – took the time to bat for Castro's MVP candidacy as well.

"I know June Mar is June Mar," he said, referring to San Miguel center June Mar Fajardo who is the front-runner for MVP honors. "But we're all be making a big mistake if we don't have Jayson Castro in the talk for MVP as well."

Castro's season, however, is done, and instead it is Alapag who will have a chance to add to the six championships that he won while wearing a TNT jersey. This time around, he will be wearing the orange threads of Meralco and serving as a veteran guide for a group of players who are playing this deep into the season for the first time ever.

"I told the guys after the game to just enjoy this," he said. "I've been lucky enough to have been in a lot of Finals, and you win some and you lose some."

"For these guys, I told them to just enjoy it. Enjoy every moment, because it's not guaranteed," Alapag added. "We still have a tough task ahead of us, but really, we need to just enjoy this moment."

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