CONE GLAD TO SEE JAPETH PUT UP 'MVP NUMBERS' ON HEELS OF C-STAN TRADE

IT has been a long time since Japeth Aguilar waxed off quite like he did on Friday night when Barangay Ginebra beat Phoenix in their PBA Governors’ Cup showdown.

Aguilar went off for 31 points in the Gin Kings’ 110-101 win over the Fuel Masters, the first time he breached the 30-point mark in nearly four years.

READ: Japeth goes off for 31 as Ginebra staves off Phoenix comeback

According to PBA statistics chief Fidel Mangonon, the last time he had this many points was December 9, 2020 during Ginebra's PBA Philippine Cup title-clinching win over TNT in the Clark bubble where he scored a career-high 32.

The 37-year-old’s scoring production has increased this conference, and it’s not by accident as his role has expanded since Ginebra traded Christian Standhardinger to Terrafirma prior to the season to break their twin tower combination.

"It’s a big adjustment for Japeth," said Cone. "He had Greg [Slaughter] with him when I first came to the team. Then Christian came. He was always like the Robin to the Batman."

"Now, he is finally getting the opportunity to be the Batman, with Isaac [Go] kinda more of his Robin. He is really taking advantage of it. The minutes are going up, the touches are going up, the expectations for him defensively is going up."

Japeth, caped crusader

With his performance on Friday, Aguilar’s scoring average has now risen to 20.4 through five games. Although the sample size is still small for this conference, he remains on track to reset his highest scoring average for a season which stands at 16.4 back in the 2017-18 season.

"I’m excited for him," Cone added. "He is putting up, dare I say, MVP numbers at this point through the first round. He has been very, very consistent all the way through this first round."

"He is doing a great job of getting to his spot and we are finding him. He is taking advantage of mismatches on the floor. He has been playing wonderfully."

PHOTO: PBA Images

Cone said he is also amazed that Aguilar has kept his skills and athleticism at this point in his long PBA career.

"I’ve never seen a 37-year-old player retain their athleticism like Japeth has. He is still an incredible athlete. And that makes him almost like a freak of nature to play at that athletic level still here at 37 years old," he said.

"Even when we were at the [Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament], he was like the most athletic big man in the whole OQT. There is no one who is more athletic than him. Maybe the kid from Brazil, maybe, but I don’t think so. And again, he is 37 years old."

And again, the multi-titled mentor reiterated his awe at how Aguilar has wasted no time making his presence felt as the Gin Kings' main man in the middle.

As he put it, "He is really amazing that he is able to keep his body and do the things that he still able to do. So it wasn’t that huge of a stretch for us to move him in to the main position because he is still playing at a high level."

"Sometimes, you didn’t get a chance to see that all the time because he was sharing time with Greg and Christian in the past. Now, he has that position open to himself so he is really showing everybody who he is and how well he can play."

2024-09-07T04:14:51Z dg43tfdfdgfd