Japeth eyes NBA dream anew
By Joey Villar (published in philstar.com on Sept. 11, 2012)
MANILA, Philippines – Former Talk n’ Text and Smart Gilas Pilipinas standout Japeth Aguilar is giving himself one last chance to try to realize his lifelong dream of playing in the National Basketball Association.
Aguilar, now a free agent after his contract with the Tropang Texters in the PBA expired, flew to the United States and attended some open workouts, including the ones hosted by the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Developmental League, which happens to be a farm league of the NBA where he hopes and prays to land.
“I just thought about it. It was now or never,” said Aguilar in a story recently written by Joseph Pimentel for the Asian Journal, a Filipino-American community newspaper that caters to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas and New York, and ABS-CBN.
“I’m 25 years old right now and I think it’s perfect timing. My contract just expired. I just want to look at it and hope for the best,” he added.
And Aguilar did great in an open tryout at the East Los Angeles College where he impressed some coaches and officials of the Jam, which happened to be the D-League affiliate of the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers, Toronto Raptors and Atlanta Hawks.
Although his team lost, Aguilar finished with 10 points after making five of the nine shots he attempted, including three electrifying dunks. He topped his effort by adding five massive blocks, four rebounds and an assist.
Aguilar, whose agent is Matthew Manotoc from EMBM, is also planning to attend separate private workouts with the San Antonio Spurs and perhaps with the Orlando Magic.
His recent foray with Bakersfield was actually the second time he’s trying his luck in the D-League after he also knocked on its door three years ago right after he finished playing for US NCAA Division I Western Kentucky College.
It all started from a pool of more than 80 players, including several aspirants from the Pac-12 of the NCAA Division I schools like USC, Oregon and UCLA before the list was drastically pruned down to 20 by the end of the day for the two-team scrimmage the next couple of days.
Interestingly, Aguilar, a former PBA top pick and part of the original Smart Gilas Pilipinas team that made it to the semifinals of the FIBA-Asia Championship in Wuhan, China last year, made the team.
“Japeth is an intriguing player,” Bakersfield Jam head coach Will Voigt told the Asian Journal and ABS-CBN. “Obviously, (because of) his length and athleticism. He’s been playing as a four (power forward) or a five (center) in the Philippines, we’ll have to transition him into a three (small forward).
“It’s going to be a process for him. But he’s shown flashes throughout the weekend that makes you want to see more,” added Voigt.
In the same story, Voigt added: “I thought his athleticism really stood out,” said Voigt. “He didn’t really shoot the ball as well as he has in the past. But his size and length, the way he moves, I think he just made a lot of plays just based on that.”
Voigt assistant, John Bryant, for his part, said Aguilar, who he described as “one of the quickest second jumps I’ve seen in a long time. You know, grab a rebound, put it up and dunk it really fast,” needs to be more assertive and imposing.
“I think right now he’s a little too passive. He has to be the man,” Bryant also told Asian Journal and ABS-CBN.
“He has to be able to knock down that corner three [pointer] consistently and if that corner three is not working, then a one or two dribble pull up and shoot… [and] mix that with some aggression. I want to see him throw an elbow or something. Get out of his shell a little and play loose. [Then] I think he’ll really be something special.”
source:nbaphilippines.com
MANILA, Philippines – Former Talk n’ Text and Smart Gilas Pilipinas standout Japeth Aguilar is giving himself one last chance to try to realize his lifelong dream of playing in the National Basketball Association.
Aguilar, now a free agent after his contract with the Tropang Texters in the PBA expired, flew to the United States and attended some open workouts, including the ones hosted by the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Developmental League, which happens to be a farm league of the NBA where he hopes and prays to land.
“I just thought about it. It was now or never,” said Aguilar in a story recently written by Joseph Pimentel for the Asian Journal, a Filipino-American community newspaper that caters to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas and New York, and ABS-CBN.
“I’m 25 years old right now and I think it’s perfect timing. My contract just expired. I just want to look at it and hope for the best,” he added.
And Aguilar did great in an open tryout at the East Los Angeles College where he impressed some coaches and officials of the Jam, which happened to be the D-League affiliate of the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers, Toronto Raptors and Atlanta Hawks.
Although his team lost, Aguilar finished with 10 points after making five of the nine shots he attempted, including three electrifying dunks. He topped his effort by adding five massive blocks, four rebounds and an assist.
Aguilar, whose agent is Matthew Manotoc from EMBM, is also planning to attend separate private workouts with the San Antonio Spurs and perhaps with the Orlando Magic.
His recent foray with Bakersfield was actually the second time he’s trying his luck in the D-League after he also knocked on its door three years ago right after he finished playing for US NCAA Division I Western Kentucky College.
It all started from a pool of more than 80 players, including several aspirants from the Pac-12 of the NCAA Division I schools like USC, Oregon and UCLA before the list was drastically pruned down to 20 by the end of the day for the two-team scrimmage the next couple of days.
Interestingly, Aguilar, a former PBA top pick and part of the original Smart Gilas Pilipinas team that made it to the semifinals of the FIBA-Asia Championship in Wuhan, China last year, made the team.
“Japeth is an intriguing player,” Bakersfield Jam head coach Will Voigt told the Asian Journal and ABS-CBN. “Obviously, (because of) his length and athleticism. He’s been playing as a four (power forward) or a five (center) in the Philippines, we’ll have to transition him into a three (small forward).
“It’s going to be a process for him. But he’s shown flashes throughout the weekend that makes you want to see more,” added Voigt.
In the same story, Voigt added: “I thought his athleticism really stood out,” said Voigt. “He didn’t really shoot the ball as well as he has in the past. But his size and length, the way he moves, I think he just made a lot of plays just based on that.”
Voigt assistant, John Bryant, for his part, said Aguilar, who he described as “one of the quickest second jumps I’ve seen in a long time. You know, grab a rebound, put it up and dunk it really fast,” needs to be more assertive and imposing.
“I think right now he’s a little too passive. He has to be the man,” Bryant also told Asian Journal and ABS-CBN.
“He has to be able to knock down that corner three [pointer] consistently and if that corner three is not working, then a one or two dribble pull up and shoot… [and] mix that with some aggression. I want to see him throw an elbow or something. Get out of his shell a little and play loose. [Then] I think he’ll really be something special.”
source:nbaphilippines.com
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