Japeth Aguilar has been listed as doubtful in Barangay Ginebra’s crucial PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup games this coming weekend.
Coach Tim Cone disclosed as much Sunday as their star big man continues to recover from the bad fall he suffered during their eventual victory over Blackwater two nights ago, which reportedly caused him to cough blood.
“He’s doubtful for this coming weekend, but I wouldn’t rule him out altogether,” he said after their 119-107 win over the struggling Titan Ultra at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, which formalized their entry to the quarterfinals.
Aguilar is still in the hospital, per the champion mentor, and the latter admitted that there remains no timetable for his return.
But they aren’t rushing him either, since they want the 39-year-old to leave confinement first. The team will then go from there.
“I believe he’s still in the hospital, and we expect him to come out maybe hopefully tomorrow, or Tuesday,” Cone said. “We don’t have a timeframe in terms of when he’ll be back in the lineup and be ready to play.
“I think the first step is just getting out of the hospital, and then we’ll decide to go from there. And he’ll have to get into practice.”
According to Cone, Aguilar suffered a lung injury. However, he made it clear that the veteran forward is all fine and is simply taking his time to heal up.
“Basically, he has some air in his lungs; some air pockets around his lungs, and they just have to take that out. But there’s a medical term for it, I can’t tell you what it is,” Cone said,
“He’s out of danger, and it’s not serious, apparently.”
Their next two games will be crucial — rivals Meralco on May 1 and then current leader Rain or Shine on the 3rd — and not having Aguilar will make it more challenging in their bid to secure a Top Four finish.
But based on their last two wins, the frontcourt has been doing a commendable job in stepping up to the plate, particularly veteran bruiser Troy Rosario.
In fact, he finished with double-doubles against the Bossing and the Giant Risers, averaging 14.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in those outings.
“Troy and Isaac [Go] and Norbert [Torres], they know that their roles become even more important when Japeth is off the floor,” said Cone.
