NEW Gilas Pilipinas captain Japeth Aguilar, who saw action in the FIBA World Cups in 2014 in Spain and 2019 in China, is drawing inspiration from Gilas greats Jimmy Alapag and Gabe Norwood.
“I’m really, as a person, not vocal but I just want to thank iyong mga naging captain ball ko kasi they paved the way,” Aguilar said. “They represented the Philippines with dignity, with honor, pride, and respect.
“So iyon iyong nakita ko sa kanila and you know, they’re household names here in the Philippines, Jimmy Alapag and Gabe Norwood,” he added.
Aguilar, 36, said the Gilas crews led by Alapag and Norwood succeeded because of their leadership– something he wants to emulate.
“They really set the bar high and I just wanna thank them because they really paved the way for us, for me,” the high-flying Ginebra big man said.
Aguilar said their chances against the Dominican Republic, ranked No. 23 in the world, is “50-50.”
“Kailangan naming i-execute iyong game plan, but you know, at the end of the day even if we play a perfect game, with the caliber that the Dominican Republic has, it’s still a 50-50 game. We just gotta do our best,” he said.
Gilas drubbed Ivory Coast 85-62 in the first of its three-match scrimmage against fellow World Cup squads six days back but lost in its last two friendlies, counting an 87-102 defeat to a Nikola Vucevic-led Montenegro last Sunday night.
