Japeth Aguilar. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net.
Two nights after Jayson Castro joined Gilas Pilipinas’ scoring fray, it was Japeth Aguilar’s turn to break his quiet offensive outing.
The lanky forward delivered a perfect offensive game, going 10-of-10 from the field to lead the Philippines’ 108-53 rout of Thailand.
Aguilar poured in 15 of his 23 points in the second quarter to trigger Gilas’ pullaway. He also nabbed five rebounds and two blocks in just three quarters of play.
That performance even surprised Aguilar, himself, who admitted that he didn’t actively look for his shots.
“I was just patient earlier. I wasn’t looking to score, but when they pass the ball to me, I’m always open. Almost all of my shots came near the basket. I was just crashing the board for the offensive rebounds and I lucky to get the ball,” he said in Filipino after the Filipinos climbed to 4-0.
Head coach Chot Reyes said what made the 30-year-old’s stint impressive was how he has embraced his role throughout the 2017 Seaba Championship.
“In the previous games, he was content with playing a supporting role, setting screens and rebounding. But today, when Thailand did a good job on our other offensive weapons, Japeth came through,” Reyes said.
It’s not that Reyes expected nothing less. After all, Aguilar has been a part of the national team program since 2009.
This time out, the outspoken mentor is hopeful that these kind of games from the Ginebra forward won’t be just a one-time thing as he seeks consistency from Aguilar, especially with him now being counted on as one of the key veteran players.
“He’s been here from the start of the Gilas program, but he’s only 29. There’s a lot of basketball left in Japeth. More than the longevity, it’s his maturity we’re counting on to him.”