BARANGAY Ginebra San Miguel big man Japeth Aguilar vowed to further step up his game in the 42nd season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) that kicks off with the Philippine Cup on Sunday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Aguilar and the reigning Governors’ Cup champions Kings open their campaign on November 27 against TNT KaTropa.
The 6-foot-9 Aguilar would still fill in the shoes of the seven-foot Greg Slaughter, who will still be out for several months because of an ACL injury.
“This coming All-Filipino is very important, it’s pivotal for my career,” Aguilar told the Business Mirror. “I need to look at it that way because Greg is still out and there will be no imports this time. So I’m one of the remaining big men in the team.”
Aguilar helped Ginebra end an eight-year title drought with a Game Six victory over Meralco in the Governors’ Cup. He averaged 13.26 points and 6.74 rebounds per game and led the Kings in blocks with 2.30 rejections per game during the conference.
And Japeth, 29, wants to pick up where he left off—if not be better this coming season.
“I’m bringing the momentum from the Governor’s Cup and I hope I’ll do better,” said Aguilar, a member of the 2016 PBA Mythical Second and All-Defensive Teams.
“My preparation for this year is different and better from last year. And I’m really looking forward to my new role and to the new challenges,” said Aguilar, son of former Ginebra player Peter Aguilar.
Aguilar knew that a lot has changed in the PBA since he was drafted No. 1 in 2009 by then Burger King. He also tried his luck in the National Basketball Association D-League but returned to the PBA to play for Talk N’ Text, before being shipped to Global Port until he found his home in Ginebra.
Aguilar said that their Governors’ Cup success does not automatically translate to a similar result in the all-Filipino conference.
“In every aspect of the game, I still need to improve especially that the competition now in PBA has become tougher,” Aguilar, also a mainstay of the national men’s team, said. “You can never tell what would happen at any given day.”
He added that the resurgence of Ginebra in Governor’s Cup, with millions of fans routing for his team, gives him a lot of pressure but it could be his inspiration too this coming season with the help of his teammates LA Tenorio, Joe Devance, Mark Caguioa, Jayjay Helterbrand, Sol Mercado, Scottie Thompson and this year’s special draft pick Kevin Ferrer under seasoned Head Coach Tim Cone, the winningest PBA coach with 19 titles and two grand slams.
“The pressure is there but I’m confident with my teammates. I know that they will play like champions and we will be like contenders this coming conference,” he expressed. “We all know the mentality of Coach Tim Cone that everything will be back to zero because all PBA team, they are more prepared and stronger right now so really it’s all about our preparation.”