‘Other Aguilar’ Raymond earns Cone’s praise in Ginebra win over SMB

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For once, it was the other Aguilar, who shone in the spotlight.

The seldom-used Raymond Aguilar provided Barangay Ginebra a big lift on Sunday, helping the Gin Kings snap their three-game slide after a 100-96 win over the June Mar Fajardo-led San Miguel Beermen.

Aguilar finished with 16 points and made such a big impact in close to 30 minutes of action that his head coach Tim Cone couldn’t stop himself from raving about the former National University slotman’s performance.

“I can’t talk enough about Raymond Aguilar — the other Aguilar, for once. He was just phenomenal,” Cone said.

With Cone not putting Japeth Aguilar as Fajardo’s primary defender in a move to keep him from getting into foul trouble, the tall order of defending the reigning four-time MVP was now on Raymond.

And the 32-year-old big man went on to defy his coach’s expectations and gave Fajardo all he could handle while also giving a boost offensively.

“He guarded June Mar all game long. We didn’t want to put Japeth on June Mar because we didn’t want Japeth to get in foul trouble, so that chore went to Raymond. And then, he hit big shots and made big plays on his own,” he said. “It was amazing. He played out of his mind tonight and I can’t thank him enough at this point because we really needed a big game from somebody.”

Aguilar’s breakout performance was just the kind of game Cone needs from the Gin Kings, especially with the team cautious in breaking in Greg Slaughter back from his injury.

“The good thing about what we’re going through now is we’re developing trust in guys that we’re not used to trusting. Guys like Raymond are stepping up and playing big for us,” he said.