MANILA, Philippines - Japeth Aguilar is for real.
The 6-foot-9 Pampangueño, honed up by his stint with the Western Kentucky U in the US NCAA, proved he can really be a big addition to the Powerade Team Pilipinas with a decent showing against a visiting US team last night at The Arena in San Juan.
The home team topped the Soldiers for Christ squad, 100-94, in a tune-up where coach Yeng Guiao and a good crowd in the venue saw what Aguilar can contribute to the Nationals.
Aguilar, son of former Northern Consolidated Cement player Peter, easily proved he can be an intimidating defensive and frontline presence for the team.
“I’m satisfied with what I saw. There are lots of positives that are in store for Japeth,” said Guiao.
“I think there are still a lot Japeth has to improve on, but the potential is there. At the moment, he’s still feeling again the local brand of play. The last time he played here was college ball with Ateneo, and that’s a long time ago,” Guiao added.
The fiery national coach accepted the offer to play the visiting US team primarily to look at Aguilar.
The Soldiers for Christ team, composed of top American Christian players, is in the country to play a series of exhibition games while also preaching the gospel of God. They’re obviously a lot better than the Australian selection the Powerade-RP swept in a two-game series last April.
Aside from Aguilar, only five other RP hopefuls in Arwind Santos, James Yap, Kerby Raymundo, Ranidel de Ocampo and Willie Miller suited up for the game, reinforced by Burger King players Wynne Arboleda, Mark Yee and Beau Belga.
Aguilar played 24 minutes, churning out eight points, six rebounds, four blocks and one steal against three errors.
PBA commissioner Sonny Barrios and league governors Ricky Vargas and Lito Alvarez were also impressed by Aguilar.
“He’s the future of Philippine basketball,” said Vargas.
“He has improved a lot. He’s a big addition to the national team, particularly on defense,” said Alvarez.
“Everybody’s raving about his defense although I think he’s still adjusting with his teammates. We’ve yet to see the best of him,” said Barrios.
Starting at center spot, Aguilar came through with three blocks, two points, two rebounds and one steal in eight minutes of action in the first quarter.
He made his presence right away, blocking a shot by a driving offensive player then scoring his first basket on a two-handed jam off an assist by Arwind Santos.