Gilas needs to prepare well – Aguilar

JAPETH Aguilar has been with the Philippine men's basketball team for a long time, so he knows preparation and an all-out commitment are keys to going to war at the FIBA World Cup.

Being a member of the first iteration of the Gilas Pilipinas in 2009, a national team program under then-Serbian coach Rajko Toroman, Aguilar has seen the Philippines improve leaps and bounds since.

In fact, the 6-foot-9 Aguilar went on to become part of the Gilas side that punched the country a ticket to the FIBA World Cup for 2014 in Seville, Spain.

The Philippine team beat longtime rival South Korea in the knockout semifinals of the 2013 FIBA Asia championship held in Manila and went on to claim the silver medal in the tournament.

“I'm very grateful because of the opportunity I was given again,” Aguilar said in Filipino in a recent interview with sports analyst Quinito Henson at his sports YouTube channel PlayitrightTV.

“We got some of the guys back, though we are not complete yet. We know the task at hand is challenging, but the important thing is we prepare well.”

At 36, Aguilar now serves as one of the senior members in the Gilas training pool. Although his size and experience are expected to come in handy for the team, he also mentors the younger members in the pool.

“We are looking forward to the training camp,” he said.

Gilas is scheduled to leave on June 22 for a three-week trip to Europe where the team is slated to play a series of tuneup matches against the national teams of Estonia, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania.

Aguilar, an eight-time PBA champion, averaged 8.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists in the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.