Aguilar’s patience reaps benefits in stellar Gilas outing vs Thais

MANILA, Philippines — Patience pays off.

That’s how Gilas Pilipinas’ Japeth Aguilar would describe his stellar outing over Thailand in Day 5 of the 2017 SEABA Championships, Tuesday night at the Smart-Araneta Colisuem.

READ: After close 1st quarter, Gilas pulls away from Thailand for win No. 4; Japeth dominates

“Hindi ko nga hinahanap ‘yung score,” the lanky forward said. “Kaso pag nakukuha ko, libre naman ako. Lahat ng mga tira ko, almost near the basket, kaya... [I was] crashing the board, [going for] offensive rebounds. Saktong napupunta naman sa akin ‘yung bola.”

The 6-foot-9 cager also shared that coming off the bench helped assess the game and survey Thailand thoroughly.

“Siguro coming off-the-bench, medyo nakikita ko ‘yung mga nangyayari, kung ano ‘yung kulang,” he noted. “Close game nung umpisa tapos parang medyo kailangan ng team to get going.”

Indeed, Gilas needed a spark plug. With the Thais trailing only by four by the end of the opening salvo, Aguilar’s insertion to the game couldn’t come in a more timely moment.

Aguilar logged 15 of his total 23 markers in that pivotal second frame. He soared for dunks, he drilled his fadeways, he canned his hook shots and he blocked shots. The Ginebra star finished the game with four boards and two blocks.

He also went on a perfect 10-for-10 clip.

“He’s been here from the start of the Gilas program,” head coach Chot Reyes said of his ward. “He’s [just turned 30]. There’s a lot of basketball left in Japeth.”

“More than the longevity, it’s his maturity. In previous games, he was content with playing a supporting role—setting screens and rebounding. Today, he did a good job—he came through,” added Reyes.

“We wanted to make sure we have a lot of weapons at our disposal, and tonight Japeth was the most lethal of them. I think it's just the continuing maturation of him,” he closed.

Japeth and company will have two more assignments in the tourney before securing the only ticket to the FIBA Asia Cup that will be held in Lebanon this August.

Gilas faces Vietnam on Wednesday and then finally, the unbeaten Indonesians—whose naturalized reinforcements are on their way—on Thursday.