MANILA – Japeth Aguilar proved that he has developed his ballgame throughout the years after a key role performance in Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings’ 2019 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup coronation.
The Gilas mainstay displayed his renewed vigor by making huge contributions offensively and defensively in each of the Kings’ four victories in the best-of-seven championship series against archrivals Meralco Bolts.
The former Ateneo Blue Eagles center averaged 17.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.4 blocks in five matches of the finals en route to achieving his first PBA Finals MVP award.
“Coming into this series, tinake on ko ‘yung challenge. Alam naman namin ‘yung strength ni [Allen] Durham, so for me talagang focus lang ako sa role ko. Just thankful sa Basketball Gods kasi it went our way,” said Aguilar.
Aguilar, who returned to the PBA after being unlucky in his National Basketball Association (NBA) dream, stressed that the trophy for him and Ginebra was the most important among all, and that his MVP finish was just an icing on the cake.
“For me, mas importante ‘yung goal which is the championship. Lahat kami may kanya-kanyang part sa kampeonato na ‘to. Ginawa ko lang ‘yung part ko,” Aguilar said.
“It’s just maturity talaga. It’s just learning, never stopping from growing sa lahat ng mga conferences na minsan we fall short of our goals. Keep on learning lang talaga,” he added./PN
