Japeth Aguilar. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
After practicing with Christian Standhardinger for the first time on Thursday, Japeth Aguilar is confident that the Fil-German stud will have a seamless adjustment with the seniors national team.
After all, the 28-year-old has already had his fair share of battles in the second division of the German league.
And with what he saw in the 2017 Jones Cup, Aguilar believes that the 6-foot-7 bruiser is a perfect fit for Gilas Pilipinas.
“Obviously with him playing in Europe, he gained a lot of experience. And I thought he really played well in the Jones Cup. His game fits what we need in Gilas,” he said.
Standhardinger averaged 11.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in the nine games he played in the invitational tournament in Taiwan.
But Aguilar’s approval isn’t limited to Standhardinger alone, saying that the four other rookies who are joining them in the 2017 Fiba Asia Cup in Beirut, Lebanon all impressed him.
“Although they’re young, they play beyond their age. They’re all mature when it comes to their game and what we saw in the Jones Cup tells a lot on the Philippines’ basketball program,” he said.
Coach Chot Reyes named Jio Jalalon, Matthew Wright, Roger Pogoy, and Carl Bryan Cruz to his 12-man roster for the Asian championships from August 8 to 20.
Though Gilas will be trotting out a youthful crew for the continental meet, Aguilar said that the team will bank on their cohesion to pull off victories against favored Asian counterparts.
“We know that this is a big pressure on us, but as long as we stick to the coaches’ gameplan and we help each other on the court, we’ll have a chance against the other teams,” he said.