Japeth Aguilar and June Mar Fajardo were among the three youngest players when Gilas Pilipinas made its return to the FIBA Basketball World Cup stage in Spain in 2014.
Now, both players will most likely make their third appearance in the World Cup and will be tasked with leading a young Gilas squad. Their goal is to become the highest-ranked Asian team in the tournament, with the hope of qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“Fina-fine tune na lang namin. Basically, nagawa na namin lahat. Mag-focus na lang kami,” said the 36-year-old Aguilar, who was recently named as captain of the national team.
“Inaaral na lang namin yung plays ng Dominican [Republic],” added the 33-year-old Fajardo.
Fajardo and Aguilar, arguably the finest big men who represented the country, suited up for the Gilas Pilipinas team that went winless in the 2019 World Cup in China.
Both players also played a crucial role in the Philippines’ historic campaign in the 2014 edition, where they secured a significant victory against Senegal, allowing them to finish 21st overall in the standings.
When asked what sets this current Gilas squad apart from the 2014 edition, Aguilar mentioned that this new national team lineup, spearheaded by NBA star Jordan Clarkson and bannered by AJ Edu and Kai Sotto, is more talented than the Andray Blatche-led and Marc Pingris- and Ranidel de Ocampo-powered team in Seville.
However, despite the advantage in skills, the Ginebra big man said that the current team must replicate the heart and teamwork that the 2014 squad demonstrated to truly achieve something in this World Cup.
“Totally different yung team na ‘to. May samahan kami nung 2014, may samahan din namin kami ngayon pero talent-wise, I feel like mas talented yung mga guys ngayon,” said Aguilar.
“Pero syempre, kailangan pa rin namin i-emulate yung naging team namin nung 2014 kasi ayun nga, kapag talagang nagtulungan kami sa loob ng court, parang magooverachieve pa rin. Parang ganun,” he added.
Fajardo, on the other hand, is confident that Gilas can pull off surprises in the upcoming world event simply because of the energy that the home crowd will bring to the games.
“Yung home crowd yung malaking factor dun so malaking boost ‘to ng kumpyansa namin. Sana magampanan namin yung role namin in-game na mabigay namin yung magandang game para sa home crowd.”
Gilas Pilipinas is placed in Pool A alongside 10th-ranked Italy, 18th-ranked Montenegro, and 23rd-ranked Dominican Republic. They will kick off the event against Karl-Anthony Towns and the Los Quisqueyanos on Friday at 8:00 p.m. at the Philippine Arena.
