MANILA – For LJ Moreno, the wife of coach Jimmy Alapag, it was not a tough decision to return to the Philippines after six years of staying in the United States.
The Alapag family moved to the U.S. in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2019, Alapag joined the Sacramento Kings as an assistant coach for the Summer League. The six-time PBA champion was later promoted to the team's developmental coach in August 2023. But last April, Alapag bid farewell to the Sacramento Kings after being a part of its coaching staff for nearly six years.
The Gilas Pilipinas legend is now set for a homecoming with his wife LJ and four kids, having been maed the new head coach of NLEX in the PBA.
READ: Jimmy Alapag returns to PH, named new NLEX head coach
Moreno said she was looking forward to coming home, something she has been thinking about for quite some time.
"I was super excited. I think mas excited pa ako sa kanya [Jimmy], guys. All my family and friends know that I'm like the number one na super excited to come home. It's like one of those answered prayers from a long time ago," she told reporters on the sidelines of a press conference in Pasig on Tuesday.
"Parang when I finally accepted na okay, maybe we are going to be in the States for a while. Medyo matagal, I'm not sure when we're gonna go home. Biglang nagkaroon ng ganu'ng opportunity so I was really, really excited," Moreno added.
Alapag's wife revealed she prayed for the chance to return to the Philippines to come to fruition, after Jimmy was initially contacted by Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas Executive Director Erika Dy on a possible role with Gilas Pilipinas.
"I'm really happy na natuloy and we're here now," Moreno shared.
The actress and host said it was not a tough decision to come back to the Philippines, citing the challenges of living overseas and raising a family.
"It's not hard for me to come back here, it was hard for me being there. Because being there, I was by myself. No help. I mean, me and Jimmy. I'm lucky, he helps naman when he can. But during the NBA season, it's likely you're solo parenting," Moreno said.
"You know naman dito sa atin maraming help 'di ba? Doon wala talaga. So it's like, ako yung lahat with the kids. Driver, everything. So yung pag-move dito, definitely not hard for me. It's a blessing to be back," she shared.
Now that the Alapag family is home, Moreno is looking forward to doing a lot of things she has missed while they are away -- including a possible return to showbiz.
"Aside from watching the PBA, being reunited with our helpers, with our yayas and also with family as well and with my friends. I wanna start acting again also so I'm excited about that. Kasi for six years, I was focused on being a housewife. I was happy I was able to do that. But now the kids are older, at least mom can work a little here and there," she said.
Beyond the opportunities Alapag was able to gain in the U.S., Moreno said living overseas really helped their family grow and strengthen their bond as a couple.
"A good thing that happened is my kids became very independent. And parang yung naging ano talaga ako, hands on na mom. Kasi di ba dito marami tayong help. We were pretty hands on parents also here, but there talaga, kami lang ni Jimmy," she said.
"So yung teamwork namin mas naging stronger. And yung foundation ng marriage mas naging stronger. So parang proof na parang ano kasi, there were a lot of hard times also, but because of our faith, kung wala siguro yung faith namin kay God pwedeng ma-break yun," Moreno added.
The Alapag family of four arrived in the Philippines from the U.S. on Sunday night.
Jimmy immediately got to work, meeting with NLEX officials on Monday then joining NLEX for a tune-up game and speaking in a press conference on Tuesday.