For Japeth Aguilar, it was tough for him to accept the crown as PBA Governors’ Cup Finals Most Valuable Player.
It’s because for the 6-foot-9 forward, it wasn’t just him who made Barangay Ginebra regain its throne as the kings of the season-ending conference, but rather all of the Gin Kings.
“Ang hirap i-accept ng Finals MVP kasi alam ko na pinaghirapan din ‘to ng teammates ko,” he said moments after their 105-93 Game Five win over Meralco at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
“Talagang ‘di madali makuha tong championship na ‘to. We got to earn it talaga.”
Indeed, Aguilar deserved every inch of that award. He was the most consistent Gin King in the series with averages of 15.5 points, 9.25 rebounds, and 3.25 blocks in the first four games.
In Game Five, he had a team-high 25 points along with eight rebounds and four blocks — a performance which got the pro-Ginebra crowd of 17,378 to hurl MVP chants late in the game.
Aguilar now has five PBA titles, but this marks the first time that he has won a Finals MVP award.
The second-generation cager has clearly become a more well-rounded player now, and the plum shows that. For the 32-year-old, though, it was all just maturity on his part.
“Actually for me, it’s just maturity lang talaga. It’s just learning; never stopping from growing sa lahat ng mga conferences na minsan we fall short of our goals,” he said.”
“Keep on learning lang talaga. Nagpapasalamat ako sa coaches kasi tinulungan nila ako sa maturity ko.”
