It was a major disappointment for Filipino basketball fans not to see much of Japeth Aguilar in the US NCAA basketball tournament. In fact, we hardly got to see him at all. The 12th seeded WKU Hilltoppers rallied from 21 points down but eventually lost to top-seeded UCLA, 88-78, Friday.
Aguilar, a former Ateneo Blue Eagle, led the UAAP in field goal percentage and blocked shots as a 6’7” sophomore center, before his father, former PBA player Peter Aguilar, made a highlight reel of his games and had it sent out to schools on the US East Coast.
Three years ago, the younger Aguilar flew to Chicago, joined some camps, and was recruited by four different schools. He selected Western Kentucky in the Sun Belt Conference, a strong basketball school in a relatively weak conference.
This season, Aguilar had bulked up, improved his ballhandling and shooting, and worked his way to becoming the first player of the bench for the Toppers. But late last year, he started feeling pain in his right foot. Doctors discovered a stress fracture, and Aguilar was sidelined for two months.
“When he was injured, he lost his spot in the rotation,” said Peter Aguilar, a former Barangay Ginebra center, to The STAR in a text message. “I don’t understand why coach Darrin Horn didn’t put him back in the line-up.”
WKU built its current team around 6-5 senior guard, Courtney Lee, an All-American who is a sure NBA first-round draft pick. Lee was the main focus of the defense of UCLA in the NCAA round of 16. The Bruins led by as many as 21 and the HIlltoppers were only able to cut the deficit to four before being knocked out of the tournament’s West Regional.
The good news is that the Hilltoppers have asked Aguilar to stay another year.
“When they found out Japeth was injured, they appealed to him to use another year of his eligibility, so he’ll play until 2010,” the elder Aguilar confirmed.
With five players graduating, Aguilar will undoubtedly be a starter next season, with D.J. Magley (brother of Aguilar’s girlfriend, 6-1 Lady Hilltoppers power forward Jessica Magley) playing well, Aguilar will be able to stay out on the wings, where he had been used effectively in trapping, double-teaming and starting the fastbreak.
The team will not be lacking in size or outside shooting, either.
So what is the future for Japeth Agular?
At least three NBA teams are already aware of Japeth, who is the first homegrown Filipino in a US NCAA Division 1 basketball program in over 50 years. The Los Angeles Lakers, Seattle Supersonics, and Golden State Warriors all know about the emerging Filipino forward, and are waiting to see how he develops in the next two years. Of the three, the Warriors have the best shot, since the Sonics will likely move in the next two to three years, and the Lakers are much higher in the standings. Golden State would also benefit the most, since the team lacks size, and there is a huge Asian (and Filipino) market in the Bay Area. It was also the Golden State Warriors who recommended another Ateneo player, Gian Chiu, for a scholarship in Desert Christian High School in California two years ago. The 6-10 Chiu is now a freshman at Oberlin College in Ohio, and will probably become the world’s tallest basketball-playing doctor.
Japeth has already received offers from no less than two PBA teams, and feelers from the Philippine team. If he makes it to the NBA, he may start scouts beating a path to the Philippines.