Aguilar exceeds all expectations

Japeth Aguilar has been out of the radar of scouts lurking in the Fiba Asia Championship.

Now he deserves a second look.

Always on attack mode in offense while imposing his length in defense, the 6-foot-9 springy forward has been exceeding expectations so far in the ongoing Asian championship that rewards three slots to the Fiba World Cup next year in Spain.

“The fact that this tournament is being held here, we don’t want to let them (Filipinos) down,” said Aguilar.

“It’s actually more of a team effort and it’s not only about myself. I wouldn’t be able to do those things out there if not for my teammates,” said the newly acquired Barangay Ginebra slotman who never fails to wow the crowd with his rim-rattling dunks in the Philippine Basketball Association.

Aguilar, a holdover from the first-generation Gilas which placed fourth in 2011 Wuhan, China, surprisingly played above par against Japan and Qatar, where he stuffed the stats sheet with 14 points and seven rebounds, two of them offensive boards, plus a block.

“Japeth is playing his role. You know the dunks and everything are spectacular, but really, what he’s doing well is playing defense and getting rebounds for us,” said Gilas coach Chot Reyes. “Fantastic job for Japeth.”

Aside from the former Western Kentucky U and Ateneo dunk specialist, Reyes also praised defensive ace Marc Pingris for limiting the naturalized players of opposing teams.

“They (Aguilar and Pingris) are role players. In the scouting reports, teams don’t really look at them but they came and played their roles, and that’s what a team is all about,” said Reyes, Aguilar’s former coach at Talk ‘N Text.

Certainly, Pingris also deserves a second look.