GINEBRA coach Tim Cone will be the first to acknowledge how difficult Japeth Aguilar’s position was as he returned to action after missing two weeks because of a hard fall following a collision with Blackwater’s Robert Upshaw III.
Not only did Aguilar had little time to ease into game-speed ahead of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup playoffs, he also had to deal with TNT’s 7’3 import Bol Bol in his first game back.
“We certainly wanted him to be comfortable back into the play. We didn't want to extend his minutes too long, but we really wanted him to get in and get a feel of the competition. You’re out for a week, or two weeks then you have to guard Bol Bol, let me tell you that’s a tough assignment,” Cone said after Aguilar finished with six points in nearly 16 minutes of action.
So what did Aguilar do, two minutes into his return to the floor as a starter for the TNT match? He tried to dunk on Bol, which unfortunately missed, but Cone appreciates the effort.
“We set some things up for him a little early, I thought he didn’t have his rhythm but as the game progressed he got better and better. He’s going to be a force for us in the playoffs,” Cone said.
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“That's his game. That’s what we expect from him. Like we said, we want him to play to our standard and if Japeth has the opportunity to dunk, he needs to dunk it.”
For Aguilar, it wasn’t really to prove a point or anything – it’s just him easing back to his role in coach Cone’s system.
That play, of course, is one of the staples in the triangle – a play which has resulted in a plethora of Aguilar highlight dunks in the past. Perhaps dunking over Bol wasn’t just meant to be for the high-flying veteran this time.
“Basta ganun naman yung play namin e, yung backdoor sa triangle, its a staple in our offense, in our play. Kahit si Justin [Brownlee], sila Troy [Rosario] buma-back door, ayun tinry ko. Unfortunately di pumasok.”
What happened, Japeth?
Talking about his injury, even Aguilar was baffled with how things turned out for him – as what seems to be a simple bump and a hard fall kept him out of commission for two weeks, even prompting confinement.
“Weird lang talaga yung nangyari. Andami kong bagsak sa career ko pero di naman nangyayari. First time yun,” Aguilar said.
He can’t even fully describe what happened to him – all he can explain is that he fainted the moment he got subbed out – and it all went in a blur.
“Medyo delayed 'yung effect. So medyo nakalaro pa kaunti tapos sakto talaga yung pangyayari, sakto sinub ako ni coach Tim, nung sinub ako, doon na. Andaming terms ng PT, nagkulang yung oxygen [sa system ko], medyo nag-faint ako ng kaunti,” Aguilar explained.
“Pero nung nailabas ko na, okay na nga ako gusto ko pa nga bumalik e, pero nag-ingat na lang 'yung PT namin,” he shared.
Now cleared by his doctors to play amid reports of him vomiting blood after that incident, Aguilar vows to make up for lost time.
“Before ako makabalik sa practice, talagang nagpa-clear muna ako sa doctor,” Aguilar said. “Ngayon I’m working hard [na makabalik to fitness]. Lahat naman kami we’re working hard to be ready for the playoffs.”
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