BARANGAY Ginebra coach Tim Cone is glad to let veteran center Japeth Aguilar wet his feet so to speak, in the final game of the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup elimination round on Sunday.
Ranged against Bol Bol and TNT, the 6-9 Aguilar gave a good account of himself after registering six points and three rebounds in 15 minutes of action while also defending the 7-foot-3 Bol Bol on the other end.
Aguilar missed the team’s last three games since sustaining a bad fall in the Gin Kings’ 115-108 win against the Blackwater Bossing last April 24.
Ginebra dictated the tempo and went on to beat TNT, 93-86 on Sunday, witnessed before over 13,000 fans at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“We certainly wanted him to be comfortable of getting back in to the play. We didn’t want to extend the minutes too long, but we really wanted to get him in to get a feel for the competition,” shared the Ginebra winning coach on Aguilar’s return.
Cone recognized the fact that swinging back to action and then drawing a defensive assignment in Bol, an NBA veteran, is a tough act to do.
“And you know you’re out for two weeks, and then all of a sudden you come back and you have to guard Bol Bol,” stressed Cone. “I tell you that was a tough assignment.”
Bol Bol, who played six seasons in the NBA, still got his usual stats, dropping 33 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, and an impressive five block shots.
The victory enabled the Gin Kings to secure the No. 2 seed after finishing with a 9-3 win-loss, behind the NLEX Road Warriors’ 10-2 card.
Cone believes the game against TNT is a good experience for Aguilar as he gets reintroduced back to the competition. RICHARD DY
