JAPETH Aguilar scaled the Twin Tower of Converge in the PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals.
Now waiting for him is his ultimate test.
As Barangay Ginebra dispatched Converge to book a seat in the semfinals, a familiar figure who has towered over Aguilar for most of his career await the 6-foot-9 veteran and the Kings in the Final Four of the season-ending conference.
READ Stockton hit with technical, faces fine for 'shoe-palpal' stunt
Aguilar braces for his rivalry with June Mar Fajardo as the two close friends and longtime Gilas Pilipinas teammates face off again starting on Wednesday in the opener of their best-of-seven semifinal series.
The Kings got a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds from Aguilar in an 88-80 victory over Converge Friday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The win thwarted the combined efforts of the FiberXers’ Justin Arana and Justin Baltazar, who finished with 15 and 13 points, respectively, while going for a combined 15 rebounds - or just two more than Aguilar’s total boards.
The 6-foot-10 Fajardo was just a force in the middle for San Miguel, a 108-97 winner over dethroned champion Meralco in the other quarterfinal game earlier. He came through with 23 points, 15 rebounds, and four block shots.
For Aguilar, going up against the young and tough Converge big men was truly, a perfect preparation for his showdown with Fajardo.
“I can’t explain how hard playing against June Mar, is” he said. “Look at him, he’s amazing. Running for the Best Player of the Conference [award] again and carrying his team. It’s going to be tough.”
Aguilar though, had the last laugh against Fajardo in their most recent meeting.
The Kings ousted the Beermen in six games of the season-opening Governors Cup semifinals, 102-99, which saw Aguilar coming through with 20 points and six rebounds, against the 22 points and 15 boards of Fajardo.
But Aguilar said it’s going to be a team effort if the Kings are looking to topple the top-seeded Beermen and Fajardo.
“It’s always a collective effort. I got to do my role, I got to do my job, it’s all teamwork. So it’s going to be hard,” he added.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
