Japeth Aguilar to soar higher

Cone confident

MANILA, Philippines — Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone expects Japeth Aguilar to soar to greater heights in the coming PBA Philippine Cup as he assumes the bulk of big man duties for the Greg Slaughter-less Gin Kings.

Governors’ Cup Finals MVP Aguilar, according to Cone, is poised to “jump to a whole new level” especially now he’ll be enjoying fuller minutes with frontline partner Slaughter on a sabbatical.

“I think it’s going to give an opportunity for Japeth to spread his wings. He always wants to play 38, 40, 42 minutes a game, feels bad everytime I take him out so he’s going to get that opportunity now without sharing time with Greg. So it will be fun to watch how Japeth grows this conference,” said the multi-titled coach.

“He was dominant in our recent practice game, for instance,  It seems he could score whenever he wanted to. He’s jumping to that level and obviously it’s a good time for him to jump to that next level. We really need him,” Cone added.

The 6-foot-9  Aguilar averaged 14.63 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks a game in 28.3 minutes on floor for Ginebra last season.

“I just think the wholeness of his game is coming together. He’s still physically a freak in nature in terms of ability to jump out of the gym. He’s carrying a bit more strength and weight and he’s still able to jump, but now that strength and weight are helping him create position,” said Cone.

“He still has the speed to get down the floor and he’s still a spectacular dunker and he’s got a beautiful jump shot. He’s really a well-rounded player,” he added.

Cone believes there are two things that seem to hold back Aguilar from blossoming fully.

“One is mental approach. He was getting frustrated easily. He has matured to do that and now he got that part of his game (right). The other part, he’s kinda held back because he was splitting time with Greg through the years. Now he will get full minutes and a chance to say this is my team,” he said.

Aguilar is ready to take on the challenge.

“Kailangan kong harapin kung anuman yung magiging role ko this All-Filipino conference. May tiwala naman ako sa coaching staff kung ano man pinaplano nila. Basta kailangang ready,” he said.

Aguilar will actually have more responsibilities to start the Philippine Cup as veteran big man Joe Devance will also be out for about a month as he undergoes treatment for his knee. Prince Caperal and Raymond Aguilar will help out Japeth in the frontcourt.