Japeth Aguilar soars as Gilas rises to victory

MANILA, Philippines — Before Gary David finally showed a semblance of explosion, there was one Gilas Pilipinas player who also soared — literally and figuratively — above his struggles and helped the country streak to victory.

Japeth Aguilar is one of the most polarizing basketball players in the Philippines.

You love him for his immense potential, but you hate him for not being able to maximize it.

You love him for his otherworldly athleticism, but you hate him because he doesn’t always use it as wisely as he can.

You love him because he can sky high like no other Filipino hoops star can, but hate him because he seems disengaged and out-of-focus at times, resulting to not exceling within a team’s system. 

On Monday night, August 5, though, everything came together for Aguilar, as he came out of his shell and sparked Gilas to a rousing win over Japan.

“This is the game I’ve been waiting for,” Aguilar told Rappler moments after the Philippines completed the inspiring win.

Without Aguilar, Gilas could still have won. Without Aguilar, however, the victory wouldn’t have been so sweet. 

For almost 17 minutes, the 6-foot-9 beanpole provided not just energy, but also stuffed the highlight reel with monster slam after monster slam.

Not only did he posterize Japanese defenders, Aguilar also worked hard on defense and kept Marcus Douthit fresh by playing well while the naturalized player gathered rest on the bench. 

His final stat line of 7 points, one rebound and one blocked shot might not mean a lot on the box score, but what the Barangay Ginebra player delivered when the team needed him went far beyond numbers.

“Japeth brought us so much from the bench,” said Gilas coach Chot Reyes, who’s had a not-so-smooth relationship with the forward. 

This wasn’t the case in 2011 when Aguilar spent most of the time watching from the sidelines as the Philippine team finished 4th in Wuhan, China.

Save for an explosive one-night showing against Bahrain, the Western Kentucky alum failed to impress then-coach Rajko Toroman to trust him with major minutes, coming up with DNP-CDs (Did Not Play – Coach’s Decision) in the all-important games.

It’s a different story this time, however, as Aguilar has morphed into a reliable contributor who will be more valuable as the tournament wears on and Gilas faces stronger foes.

“Gusto kong gawin lahat ng kaya ko para sa taumbayan,” he said. (I really want to do everything I can for our countrymen.)

“I really focused on the game,” he added. “Sana tuloy-tuloy na ang improvement ko at ng team.” (I hope that the team and I continue to improve.)

Aguilar might never fulfill the potential we were so excited about when he burst onto the scene a few years ago. But he will definitely be a key ingredient as Gilas journeys to attain basketball supremacy for the Philippines again. – Rappler.com