LA Tenorio made sure that his Ginebra would not falter following the early ejection of Christian Standhardinger in Game Four of their PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinal series versus Magnolia, Wednesday.
The Kings lost the one-time BPC barely six minutes into the match for throwing the ball to opposing import Nick Rakocevic. Fortunately, though, the decorated floor general knew who to speak to first and foremost to fill in the gap left by their teammate.
“Well, the person I talked to first was really Japeth,” he said.
“I really wanted Japeth to excel in this game, kasi this is his opportunity. I kept on reminding him that this is his opportunity and I told him, ‘Show them what you got’.”
Aguilar, 35, was far from his sharp from the last Philippine Cup in the ongoing mid-season joust. Prior to the Game Four, he’s only tallied double-digit outputs six times — far from the 13 he had in the conference prior.
But that pep talk with his long-time teammate surely helped. The veteran forward turned in his best outing of the tilt to date with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting, alongside eight rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Most importantly, the Kings won, 99-84, to secure a return flight to the Finals of the conference they lorded over four years ago.
Tenorio, who finished with 18 points that saw him set the tone of their rout, couldn’t be any prouder to his big man play that well.
“I have to give credit to Japeth also, for playing, really, not only offensively, ‘no. He scored, I think, double digits also. But I think, I want to commend his defense also,” he said after the match at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
“Ang laking bagay sa amin si Japeth talaga. We need him, so I think I have to give credit to Japeth,” added the 38-year-old.
Glad as well to see Aguilar show glimpses of his old self was no less than head coach Tim Cone after seeing his star forward be hard on himself.
“Japeth is incredibly hard on himself. He really is hard on himself, and that’s one of the things we battle with him all the time — to keep his spirits up, to keep him encouraged. Because he has a tendency to really get down on himself.
“He’s a guy who really cares. He cares about playing well, he cares about playing well for his teammates, and every time he does something wrong, he feels like he’s letting his teammates down,” said Cone.
The league’s winningest mentor found it hard to pinpoint how and when exactly Aguilar managed to regain his groove but regardless, it was a welcome boost for the Kings and their quest to add championship no. 15.
“I don’t know, we started Christian in Game Three and let him come off the bench. I don’t know exactly what happened there, but I’m guessing that maybe, that took some of the pressure off him,” he offered.
“And, he was able to play a little more freely coming off the bench with lower expectations. I’m not sure, I really don’t know. But in any case, we really need him,” added Cone, who’s headed to his 37th Finals appearance.
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
