Japeth Aguilar’s return appears imminent.
Ginebra head coach Tim Cone disclosed that the team is looking to bring back their star forward in either of the next two games of the 2022 PBA Governors’ Cup Finals, granted of course that he and his calf feels much better.
“We’re looking at Sunday,” he said. “Then on Sunday, we’re looking at Wednesday.
“But I’m confident he might be able to make an appearance on Wednesday … if there’s any likelihood, it would be Wednesday.”
Out since Game Two of their semis series against NLEX, Aguilar suited up in Game Two of the Finals versus Meralco on Friday. But he was not cleared to play despite the procedures done to him in the dugout, said Cone.
“When he came to the game, his intention was to suit up and warm up. And he did a little bit of warming up. but really in the locker room, before he went out to warm up, we already knew he wasn’t going to be able to play,” he said.
“They did some things with him in the locker room and it didn’t work out as well as we’d hoped. And so he still went out and did a little bit of a soft warmup, but we knew before the warmups that he wasn’t going to play.”
Aguilar only watched his side tie the series, 99-93.
The 35-year-old admitted that the swelling has yet to subside, but at the same time pleased with the progress his calf has been making. He was no longer limping as he did before when he said that he can’t put weight on it.
“I can’t tell kanina pero nung warm-up, dahil sa mga workouts na ginawa ko, medyo sore siya ngayon pero good naman na nagre-recover siya,” offered Aguilar, who has missed a total of five matches now.
Aguilar can’t wait to return to action soon.
“If ever I get to play I’m gonna be all out. Hindi ko siya masyado iisipin ’cause ‘pag inisip mo baka lalo ka pang ano. Just trying to do the best I can, para mabigyan ng konting break mga players,” he said.
Still, it will all depend on how he responds to tests.
“He needs a few more days, it seems to me,” said Cone. “But he will do the same thing on Sunday. He will come to the game. We’ll stretch him out. We’ll test out a few things and then if he passes that test, then he’ll go warm up.
“And if he feels good in the warmup, then we’ll look to see if we can get him on the court at least for a few minutes.”
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