Japeth Aguilar believes he’s slowly getting back to his old self during Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s Game 5 victory in the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals.
Playing his second game after being sidelined by an injured calf, Aguilar put up six points, two rebounds, two steals and one block as the Gin Kings moved one win away from the title with a 115-110 win over the Meralco Bolts.
He highlighted his 16-minute appearance with a dunk off an alley-oop pass by Scottie Thompson to begin the second quarter, a moment that felt good for the high-flying big man.
“Talagang inuunti-unti ko hanggang sa makatalon ako,” Aguilar said. “Nung nakuha ko yun, parang unti-unti nakakabalik ako sa rhythm ko.”
The one-time Finals Most Valuable Player said that his condition has been getting better, even though coach Tim Cone bared that Aguilar re-injured the same calf in Game 4.
Aguilar said he’s been doing a lot of things to strengthen his calf while also trying to regain his timing.
“Everyday naman it’s getting better. And behind the scenes, ginagawa ko rin lahat para lumakas siya,” he said.
“Yung therapy ko actually four hours and then yung mga PT namin they’re doing everything they can. At saka yung technique ko kanina is instead of jumping my usual like right-left, ginawa kong left-fight. Yung pinampush off ko is yung right leg ko.”
With Ginebra on the cusp of another title, Aguilar is expected to have his role increased in the potential Game 6 clincher on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
But Aguilar is still aware that Meralco can still be party-poopers and force a deciding seventh game.
“Kailangan talaga maging maingat kami against Meralco because we had leads like nine and 14 points pero grabe nila bawiin. Kailangan maging aware kami doon.”