At 37 and after numerous battles with Gilas and Barangay Ginebra, it seems like 6-foot-9 forward Japeth Aguilar is only coming out of his shell this Season 49 PBA Governors’ Cup.

For one, Aguilar has only been an able sidekick as the other half of the Kings’ dreaded twin towers, first with Greg Slaughter and then Christian Standhardinger. He’s the Robin to their Batman as head coach Tim Cone would put it.

But after trading away Standhardinger, Aguilar has now taken the mantle as the main man in the middle and while it’s been an adjustment for him, he’s been delivering big numbers for Ginebra.

“It's a big adjustment for Japeth. He had Greg with them when I first came to the team, Greg Slaughter was there and then Christian came so he was always like the Robin to the Batman,” Cone said of Aguilar.

“Now he's finally getting the opportunity to be the Batman with Isaac (Go) now kinda more like Robin,” the veteran coach added.

The leap in Aguilar’s performance is more evident in Ginebra’s 110-101 victory over Phoenix where he put up 31 points – his best offensive showing in the last four years or since he scored a career-high tying 32 points in the title clinching Game 5 in PBA Philippine Cup Clark bubble.

The one-time Finals MVP is now third in local scoring with 20.4 points per game just behind NorthPort’s  Arvin Tolentino with 23.2 ppg and San Miguel’s June Mar Fajardo with 22.6 ppg.

“He's taking a huge advantage of it. It's a big adjustment for him because the minutes are going up, the touches are going up, the expectations for him defensively are also going up so it's a big adjustment for him,” Cone pointed out.

“He's done a really good job so far and I'm excited for him. He's putting up there I say. MVP numbers at this point through this first round he has been very consistent,” he added.

With Aguilar’s current performance, Cone couldn’t help but rave on how his reliable forward has been aging like fine wine.

“I've never seen a 37 year old player  retain their athleticism like Japeth has. He is still an incredible athlete that makes him almost a freak of nature, to be able to play at that athletic level still here at 37 years old,” Cone said of Aguilar, who at one point in the contest, still soared for an emphatic two-handed dunk in transition.

Aguilar’s ability to remain at his peak is what gives Ginebra the confidence that it could let go of someone like Standhardinger and still be a potent team according to Cone.

“It wasn't huge of a stretch for us to move him into the main position because he's still playing at a high level. Sometimes you don't get the chance to see that all the time because he was sharing time with Greg and Christian in the past,” said Cone.

“Now he has that position open to himself so he's really showing who he is and how well he can play,” he added.