Smart-Gilas recovered from a lackluster
start to end Bahrain’s FIBA-Asia
Championship stint, 113 to 71. So
Team Pilipinas will have a rest day
tomorrow before battling it out in a carryover win-loss format against Group C qualifiers Japan, Jordan, and Syria.
But
there’s one thing that’s bugging me in this whole stretch.
Why is
Japeth Aguilar getting miniscule
minutes?
Fact
is, with a depleted lineup, Japeth Aguilar is now important more than ever.
Sure he is sometimes hard-headed and uninspired but one of the reasons why he is
needed more than ever is his size. Japeth’s arsenal is not limited to dunking.
He can rebound, defend, swat, and certainly he can be an extra player to body
up against the likes of Yi Jianlian,
Wang Zhizhi, and those other Chinese bigs. This is why I was frustrated as
hell when I watched the match versus China.
Where
the hell is Japeth Aguilar!?!
Aguilar
then came out from bench-warming cobwebs to mount four points in three minutes.
We
could have used him... more.
That
frustration carried over when the Philippines were playing sloppily against Bahrain. Overpassing is one thing.
Missing open shots is another. And I can’t stand the turnovers! And then there
are a lot of other intangibles like not chasing the loose balls, babying easy
baskets, awful shot selections, and not making a statement just because they
have already advance to the next stage.
This
is where Japeth steps in. He fuelled a 35
to 7 third quarter attack characterized by laying throwdowns and grabbing
shots. Magoo Marjon and Ronnie Magsanoc also exclaimed that
Japeth’s energy is igniting a positive behaviour for the squad. Bader Malabes will end up topscoring
the Bahrainis but most (in fact almost all) of his 15 points came from the
first half.
So
because of Japeth Aguilar’s 21 points
and 12 rebounds in 15 minutes, Toroman could give Aguilar the minutes he
deserves.
Here
are the updated stats after 3 games:
POINTS:
1 – Marcus
Douthit – 16.0ppg
2 –
Chris Tiu – 10.3ppg
3 – JV
Casio – 10.3ppg
4 –
Mac Baracael – 10.0ppg
5 – Japeth
Aguilar – 9.7ppg
REBOUNDS:
1 –
Marcus Douthit – 8.0rpg
2 –
Asi Taulava – 7.3rpg
3 –
Mac Baracael – 5.0rpg
4.5 –
Japeth Aguilar – 4.7rpg
4.5 –
Kelly Williams – 4.7rpg
ASSISTS:
1 –
Jimmy Alapag – 4.7apg
2 –
Mark Barroca – 4.3apg
3.5 –
Chris Tiu – 2.7apg
3.5 –
Ranidel De Ocampo – 2.7apg
5 – JV
Casio – 2.3apg
As of
this moment, the United States have
made the Olympics to defend their
championship. Tunisia has advanced
from the FIBA-Africa Championship
with Angola and Nigeria trying to make it via the wildcard. Luis Scola’s Argentina and Leandro
Barbosa’s Brazil likewise advanced from the FIBA-Americas Tournament with the Dominacan Republic, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela contending for the
other spots. There are only two teams available for contention at the FIBA-Oceania with Australia taking the ticket to London
and New Zealand relegated to the
qualifiers.
Aside
from FIBA-Asia where one team will qualify and two teams will advance to the
qualifiers, Eurobasket has yet to
finish with only two teams advancing to the Olympics and the 3,4,5, and 6
headed to the qualifiers. So as of this moment the teams that will go to the
finals automatically advance and that will be the winner of Russia versus France and Spain versus Macedonia. Claiming the 5 and the 6 are
Greece and Lithuania.
I am
not saying that they should make Japeth Aguilar the go-to-guy. I am not also
saying that Rajko Toroman should rub
out the minutes given to Kelly Williams,
Ranidel De Ocampo, Mac Baracael, and Asi Taulava. Especially Asi. Asi is
extending his abilities and it is amazing to see a lumbering giant running a
fast break attack. However with ten players left in the roster (I still think
it’s stupid that Marcio Lassiter and
Chris Lutz are barred from international play), Rajko Toroman should extend
his frontline more.
Game
over.
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