JAPETH Aguilar delivered the killer blow for Barangay Ginebra in its PBA Philippine Cup debut game against Blackwater despite still feeling pain in his injured calf.
Coach Tim Cone disclosed the 6-foot-9 Aguilar hurt his leg a few days before the Kings’ meeting with the Bossing at the Ynares Center in Antipolo and was in doubt for the team's first game of the season.
But the veteran big man not only played but also emerged as the endgame hero after burying the mid-range jumper that won it for the Kings, 85-82.
[See Japeth jumper rescues Ginebra from jaws of defeat]
“He has a setback a few days ago. We thought he had a strain on the same calf,” said Cone, who missed Aguilar for majority of the Governors’ Cup playoffs due to the same leg issue. “We were worried he wasn’t going able to play, but he found a way which was nice of him.”
If any, Aguilar didn’t show any effects of the injury, which also factored in him skipping playing for Gilas Pilipinas in the 31st Southeast Asian Games.
He finished with 15 points, six rebounds, and five blocked shots in a performance on defense which left Cone in awe.
“He had a stretch there where he blocked three straight shots,” recalled Cone of one sequence of the game. “He was dominant defensively, he was dominant around the basket. He had one great rebound where he towered over everybody. It’s really nice to have him back.”
Hopefully, a 100 percent healthy, too.
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