BIG men June Mar Fajardo and Japeth Aguilar are among those who’ve benefited the most so far from the ongoing European training camp of Gilas Pilipinas as part of its buildup for the World Cup.
Coach Chot Reyes noted Fajardo and Aguilar, both coming off MCL injuries they sustained during the PBA Governors' Cup, are slowly returning to peak form after four tune-up games - and almost two weeks since leaving Manila.
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While Aguilar managed to play restricted minutes during the finals against TNT, Fajardo has not played competitive basketball since going down with the injury during the EASL (East Asia Super League) Champions Week in Japan last March.
The 6-foot-10 Fajardo has played well in the tune-up matches against Estonia, Finland, and the Ukraine U-20 team, according to Reyes.
“It was just a matter of time. Like I said, we started with these guys coming off injuries, and they were nowhere near competitive shape or basketball shape,” said Reyes of his two veteran big men following Gilas’ 84-74 win over the Ukraine youth team at the Zalgirio Arena in Lithuania.
“But little by little, we’re seeing now their legs are coming back, their conditioning is coming back. And for me that’s the most fundamental of all fundamentals.”
Fajardo for one has been a constant starter for Gilas, and scored 10 points and four rebounds in his first game back from injury in an 81-71 loss to Estonia.
He had nine points and four rebounds as the Filipinos repeated over Ukraine on Sunday night.
Getting both Fajardo and Aguilar in shape on their road to recovery, according to Reyes, was part of Gilas’ agenda in its training camp.
“That’s part of the plan. That’s why everything we’re doing here, all the extra work, the loading, the lifting, the conditioning stuff that we're doing, it’s precisely to get them to that level,” said the Gilas coach in a video interview by Carlo Pamintuan, official media officer of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP).
Reyes though, said the team has only just started.
“We’re still long ways off. We’re not programmed to be at the top level at this point. This is still part of our learning process, of still getting our feet under us,” he said.
Gilas will play two more tune-up games as it hopes to incorporate naturalized player Ange Kouame to the system after he arrived in Lithuania last Sunday night.
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