BOCAUE, Bulacan - The way he played, Japeth Aguilar should've worn a Santa hat and a fake beard.
He granted all of the wishes of Barangay Ginebra fans on Sunday night.
The 6-foot-9 forward provided the highlights by making shots from both inside and out as Ginebra dominated Star, 86-79, in the main offering of the PBA's Christmas Day doubleheader at the Philippine Arena.
Aguilar scored 32 points while going 5-of-5 from beyond the three-point arc as the Gin Kings put away their third win in six outings in the Philippine Cup before a holiday crowd estimated to be between 20,000 to 21,000.
Aguilar added 12 rebounds and two blocks.
"Japeth was awesome tonight on the offensive side and even defensively, he was very active," said Ginebra coach Tim Cone.
"We encourage him to shoot threes and he hit them tonight. It's a huge weapon that we can continue to use and develop."
The lanky forward also had help from fellow starter Joe Devance, who finished with 17 points including the basket with 2:14 left that gave Ginebra a 77-72 upperhand.
Everything went downhill from there for the Hotshots (3-3), who saw their three-game winning streak come to an end in the marquee match-up of the holiday season.
Paul Lee paced Star with 20 points, but he hardly made an impact in the homestretch where he was needed most.
Marc Pingris and Allein Maliksi added 14 and 13, respectively.
The scores:
Ginebra 86 - Aguilar 32, Devance 17, Mariano 7, Tenorio 7, Taha 5, Thompson 5, Caguioa 4, Marcelo 4, Ellis 3, Mercado 2, Cruz 0, De Guzman 0, Ferrer 0, Helterbrand 0, Jamito 0.
Star 79 - Lee 20, Pingris 14, Maliksi 13, Ramos 7, Barroca 6, Dela Rosa 6, Melton 5, Reavis 4, Simon 4, Abundo 0, Brondial 0, De Leon 0, Jalalon 0, Javier 0, Sangalang 0.
Quarterscores: 25-16, 45-35, 62-61, 86-79
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