Just as when Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and its’ fans at the SMART Araneta Coliseum got worried as they lost seven-footer Greg Slaughter due to an ankle injury, his frontcourt partner Japeth Aguilar stepped up big time.
The 6-foot-9 forward nailed timely baskets down the stretch to help the Gin Kings douse cold water to the NorthPort Batang Pier’s fiery attacks, 104-98, to collect their third straight victory in the 2018 Governors’ Cup.
Aguilar finished the match with a filled-up stat sheet, producing 23 points, nine rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block in the 30 minutes he played.
“Talagang mahigpit ‘yung defense ng GlobalPort, so ‘yung activity lang talaga sa loob,” said the nine-year veteran. “Basta nag-ano lang ako, shoot the gaps kanina, kasi nagso-zone sila eh.
“Merong mga open na spots, kaya ayun.”
“Japeth hit some key shots down the stretch, got us over the hump. But that game could’ve gone either way,” remarked Ginebra head coach Tim Cone, on the other hand.
The way Ginebra has been racking up wins has truly been impressive, knowing that they have yet to field in a complete line-up this conference — players such as Joe Devance and Sol Mercado are still recovering from injuries.
But Aguilar was quick to burst the defending champs’ bubble, as the conference is still a long way to go.
“Siguro sa standing namin medyo… It has put us in a good situation,” opined the product of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers program.
“Pero yun nga, quick naman si Coach Tim to remind us na it’s still early in the conference.”
