Japeth always there for Gilas

MANILA, Philippines —  Like a good soldier, Gilas Pilipinas alternate Japeth Aguilar is always ready to answer the country’s call.

Aguilar is eyed to fill the void as Kai Sotto went down with a torn ACL this week, preventing the 7-foot-3 slotman from joining the Nationals’ sorties in the next six months or so.

“You know, I’m just here,” said three-time FIBA World Cup veteran Aguilar, whom coach Tim Cone has named backup big man in case of injuries to Gilas regulars Sotto, June Mar Fajardo and AJ Edu.

“I mean, I feel like there are still other bigs like AJ Edu. Hope he stays healthy. June Mar (Fajardo) is still there. We still have a lot of young guys. My role here is to guide the young guys.”

Aguilar’s familiarity with how Cone, his coach at Ginebra, runs things will come in handy as Gilas embarks on its next mission on the road in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers third window in February against Chinese Taipei and New Zealand.

“Basta ‘yung system namin, yung triangle ni Coach Tim, pinaka-important sa amin na ma-execute namin nang maayos. And also, kung anuman yung matulong ko sa kanila, ‘yun lang ang role ko,” said the 6-foot-9 frontliner.

Sotto’s absence in the Qualifiers prolongs the realization of Cone’s dream of finally unraveling the exciting combo of Sotto and Edu after the latter missed the 2024 campaign due to injury.

“I’ve said it before, until we get Kai and AJ together, the other countries won’t see our best Gilas team,” Cone told The STAR. “Looking forward to that day.”