Team captain Japeth Aguilar is fully embracing his new role with the Nationals and he is thankful for the past Gilas leaders who paved the way for him.

“I'm not really a vocal person pero I just want to thank 'yung mga naging captain ball ko, kasi they showed me, they paved the way,” said Aguilar referring to former Gilas players Jimmy Alapag who skippered the 2014 World Cup team, and Gabe Norwood, who captained the 2019 team.

“They represented the Philippines with dignity you know, with honor, pride and respect,” he added.

Although not as vocal as the past Gilas leaders, Aguilar said he’s trying to lead the team, a perfect blend of young talents and veteran experience, in his own way and by example while also trying to emulate the quality of leadership Alapag and Norwood showed.

“‘Yun 'yung nakita ko sa kanila and they're household name here in the Philippines, captains Jimmy Alapag, Gabe Norwood, so they really set the bar high and I just wanna thank them of course, they really paved the way for us, for me,” he added.

Aguilar, a veteran of two World Cups alongside June Mar Fajardo, is now seen as the pillar of the national team. Since joining the Nationals in the first generation of Gilas in 2009, Aguilar was just glad to be part of the national team especially going through a lot of injuries in the past.

“I'm always  thankful, I'm honored beyond words kasi first of all, thankful ako kay God throughout the years. Mainly, very important is this health,” said Aguilar.

“I was injured, I was out for three months and, in my mind, I thought na hindi na ako makakabalik sa top shape pero it's a lot of hard work talaga. It's a lot of hard work through training camps. Happy lang ako na and blessed na mapasama sa national team,” he added.