Japeth Aguilar has answered the call of duty for Gilas Pilipinas before. Coach Tim Cone is hoping he would do it again.
One more time for Japeth Aguilar in Gilas Pilipinas? Coach Tim Cone is keeping his fingers crossed.
The player and coach are deep into the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup semifinals, as Barangay Ginebra San Miguel tussle in a best-of-seven against the Meralco Bolts.
Cone is hoping his big man would agree to additional playing time afterwards with the national team.
Gilas Pilipinas will be convening in the second half of June for the 2024 FIBA Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Riga, Latvia, which will start on July 2.
The winner of the OQT will earn a berth in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
[ALSO READ: Tim Cone makes frank assessment of Gilas' OQT chances after Paris Olympics basketball draw]
During the first window of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers in February, Aguilar stepped in to take the place of then-injured June Mar Fajardo and AJ Edu.
Now, Jamie Malonzo is the latest Gilas Pilipinas player dealing with injuries.
"So we are looking for Japeth again to try to come and be a part of the 12," Cone said in an interview with Carlo Pamintuan. "He's so sacrificial. You know he'll step in the background, doesn't need to be at the forefront all the time, which makes him a great teammate."
The thing is, they're still working it out with Aguilar--who just had a second baby.
"We haven't got a full agreement from him yet that he's going to come. So that's still up in the air," Cone said. "We're hoping he'll be able to join us."
Aguilar also serves as a mentor to the players, having worked in Cone's system for so long under Ginebra.
"He actually ends up being a teacher," Cone said. "He's teaching June Mar, he's teaching Kai. He's almost like a coach on the floor."
It also helps that Aguilar still has his patented moves.
"He's still athletic. I don't know how he does it. He's 37 years old, but he jumps out of the gym still and he's you know, 6'10, 6'11. And I know people say he's 6'9. There's no way he's 6'9. He's much taller than that," Cone gushed.
Imagine what he can do with a healthy June Mar Fajardo, AJ Edu, and Kai Sotto.
"Japeth being able to join those three guys and be our big man is really crucial," Cone noted.
Gilas Pilipinas will start training for the OQT by June 21.