FROM afar, he could easily be mistaken for Justin Brownlee.
But upon closer look, it's actually Raymond Aguilar disguised as ‘Justin Noypi.’
The veteran Barangay Ginebra forward doesn't deny he copied almost the entire look of his beloved teammate that he can easily pass as the doppelganger of the Gilas Pilipinas naturalized player.
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Aguilar sees anything wrong about it. Brownlee after all, has been his long-time idol.
"Ginagaya ko siya talaga kasi idol ko siya," said a giggling Aguilar when asked by SPIN.ph about the seeming similarity in his looks and the 36-year-old Ginebra import.
"Makikita mo naman sa porma, pati sa sleeves. Pati buhok ginaya ko na nga, e."
Aguilar became fond of the Brownlee the moment they became teammates in 2017 after the veteran out of National University was re-acquired by Ginebra along with Art Dela Cruz in a trade with Blackwater for the duo of Chris Ellis and Dave Marcelo.
Shortly after his return to the Kings, Aguilar won his first ever PBA championship as the team defeated the Meralco Bolts in a memorable Game 7 at the Philippine Arena for the 2017 Governors' Cup crown.
Aguilar would win five more titles after that, including four with Brownlee around.
"Kaya idol ko talaga siya. At wala ng makakabura nun. Hahahaha," he said with his ever familiar laugh.
The burly forward said Brownlee had all his blessings about him being his copycat.
"Alam naman niya yan. Nagpaalam ako sa kanya," Aguilar said with another laugh, accompanied by a wink.
"Masaya nga, e."
But Aguilar said the jersey number wasn't by design as he had been wearing no. 23 for a longer time now, and actually not a reverse of Brownlee's signature no. 32.
"Yung sa number naman, coincidence lang. Nagka-baliktaran lang," he said.
In as much as he would want to be like JB, Aguilar knows the legendary import is definitely one of a kind.
And the least he could do, according to Aguilar, is to give him some respite off the bench.
"Para lang mabigyan natin ng magandang pahinga yung mga bigs namin tulad nila Justin, nila Japeth (Aguilar), para fresh sila lagi," he said.
READ 'Other' Aguilar earns Cone praise after stepping out of Japeth's shadow
PHOTO: Jerome Ascano
"Short lang kami sa bigs talaga," added Aguilar, noting the injuries that took its toll on Isaac Go and just recently, the comebacking Joe Devance.
Aguilar said he'll definitely be ready if and when coach Tim Cone counts on his services in the best-of-seven finals between Barangay Ginebra and TNT that starts this Sunday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
He doesn't want to certainly disappoint his coach, management, teammates, but most especially his idol, ‘Justine Noypi’
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