DESPITE LATE-GAME HEROICS, JAPETH STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS
Much maligned for the better part of his professional career, Japeth Aguilar has heard it all. Playing for already four teams after being drafted first in 2009, that really didn’t do much of a help in his resume.
The hype he garnered in his numerous attempts to be the first Filipino in the NBA eventually turned into jeers for the 26-year-old. One could say that the believers lost their patience in his quest for immortality, as the glimmer of hope in his NBA dream slowly faded.
When he came back to the PBA, Aguilar some viewed him as a me-first forward who wore out his welcome and had his potential unrealized.
Until he made a name for himself in the silver medal-winning Gilas Pilipinas, which continued to his current season for Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.
LA Tenorio recounts, “When he was traded to Ginebra, pagkakaalala ko, nasa Lithuania kami (with Gilas). He was so excited to play for Ginebra, to be my teammate, also because he was my teammate before sa Ateneo.”
Whether it might be the change of scenery in the PBA or the confidence-boosting ecstasy in front of the raucous Philippine crowd, it turned Aguilar from a despised dreamer to a national defender.
Crashing the boards, rejecting shots, and dunking the ball, the 6-foot-9 Aguilar is now loved by the people, regardless if he’s in a Gilas blue or Ginebra red.
But last Sunday, the former Ateneo Blue Eagle and Western Kentucky Hilltopper unveiled another ace up in his sleeve.
With Ginebra down 94-95 against Talk ‘N Text in the final 10 seconds, Aguilar set a screen for Tenorio, but the heady court general waved him off and told him to sag.
Tenorio then went through a Greg Slaughter screen and kicked the ball out to the waiting hands of Aguilar, which the latter caught.
“I tried to stay as calm as possible,” he said. “Nung tinira ko yung bola, i knew it was make or break.”
Aguilar rose and fired a three-pointer from the left wing and drilled it through the hoop with 1.1 seconds to play, which sent the Big Dome crowd to a frenzy.
Shortly thereafter, the Tropang Texters had one last chance to send the game into overtime, but Aguilar would have none of it as he rejected Ranidel de Ocampo’s shot as the time expired.
“Wala nang time kung ipapasa pa nya yun. Di na sila makaka-shoot kung ipapasa pa nya kaya I went for the block,” he said.
Ginebra escaped with a 97-95 decision, with Aguilar finishing with 21 points, 19 of which coming in the second half, to go with 12 rebounds, and seven blocks.
“Yung breaks of the game, napunta sa amin,” said Ginebra coach Ato Agustin. “Last play namin is pick-and-roll, at para talaga kay Japeth yun. I told them na dapat hard sila sa basket. Eh swerte lang, tinira ni Japeth sa three points, buti pumasok.”
Japeth was 2-of-3 from beyond the arc for the game, in stark comparison from the 5-of-24 he had in his career prior to this season.
Though many are surprised that Aguilar was able to make that shot, his teammate Tenorio is not.
“Before and after practice, he takes a lot of shots. He practices them with Dylan (Ababou) actually,” he said. “The good thing with Japeth now is that he listens. Nakikinig sya sa akin kahit nakikita sa game na frustrated ako sa kanya. He listens, and that’s one side of his maturity.”
“Feeling ko, talagang nagma-mature na sya, pero hopefully, sana tuloy-tuloy pa. Siya ang pinaka-consistent sa team namin eh. Nandun na siya and hopefully, with that kind of game, mas mag-mature pa sya.”
For his part, Aguilar knows that his maturity is the biggest facet in his game that he needs to improve on, as he is now making a conscious effort to drive himself to be better.
“Coming of age na rin,” he said. “Ako yung tipo na naiisip ko na kung ano pang kailangan kong i-improve.”
Aguilar added, “Nakikinig lang ako sa mga teammates ko, lalo kay LA kasi sya yung coach ko sa game. Makikita mo sa game pag out of control ako, pinagsasabihan ako ni LA.”
The trust the teammates have developed might have been the biggest key in the completion of that game-winning shot.
“Yung confidence na binigay ni LA sa akin kasi pinasa nya sa akin yung bola, it shows na malaki yung respeto nya sa akin, at ganun rin naman ako sa kanya.”
Tenorio also gives credit for Aguilar in his composure to make that shot, which pushed Ginebra to solo second in the standings with a 4-1 record.
“Kumpyansa rin from us teammates, na confident kami na mashu-shoot nya yun,” he said. “Taking that last shot, you have to give it to him.” (RLeongson)
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