JAPETH Aguilar was quick to move on from Barangay Ginebra’s first win in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Wednesday night as he shifted his sights to an anticipated battle against Star on Sunday.
After they registered in the win column with a 113-96 decision of GlobalPort, the Gin Kings star slotman looked ahead to their match against the Hotshots, who are undefeated in four games and are sharing the top spot with Alaska.
“Obviously we’re gonna prepare for them,” Aguilar said. “Alam ko may mga plans na yung coaching staff. They’re playing really well right now. Hindi lang si Tony Mitchell kundi the rest of the guys.
“Magiging test talaga sa amin ‘yung game on Sunday,” he added. “It’s gonna be hard. Classic na naman siguro.”
After all, except for their two-point win over NLEX, the Hotshots have won their other three games by an average of 19.7 points.
And the Hotshots have done it despite fielding a shorthanded lineup with Marc Pingris sidelined with a hip injury, and now Justin Melton with a hamstring issue.
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Aguilar believes the Hotshots remain as potent as ever even without their injured players, particularly Pingris, who hurt his hip in Game Five of the Philippine Cup semifinals against Ginebra following a collision coincidentally with Aguilar.
“Even though na wala si Ping, maganda pa rin ‘yung nilalaro nila,” Aguilar said. “What more kung andun pa siya?”
With Pingris still questionable, Aguilar, who registered a double-double of 13 points and 11 boards, along with four assists, and two blocks against the Batang Pier, should pounce on his former Gilas teammate’s absence.
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