Japeth Aguilar’s emergence inspired by former Ginebra player father

PBA/Nuki Sabio

After less than memorable stints with Burger King, Talk ‘N Text, and GlobalPort, Japeth Aguilar has finally emerged as a star with Barangay Ginebra San Miguel this season.

Fittingly, the high-flying forward is coming into his own with the same franchise where his father began his PBA career.

Peter Aguilar began his career with the Ginebra franchise in 1989.

With Japeth on the league’s most popular team, the elder Aguilar has been burning the midnight oil from his home in the United States.

“Napupuyat pa yan kasi minsan 4 a.m. pinapalabas dun,” said Japeth of his dad. “Sinasabihan niya ako lagi kung ano pa ang kailangan kong i-improve.”

The younger Aguilar joined the Gin Kings in the Governors’ Cup last season, but was hampered by a knee injury that kept him out of all but two games. This season, he has finally shed the underachiever tag that hounded him early in his career, posting Most Valuable Player-caliber numbers in his first six games with Ginebra.

He leads the Gin Kings in scoring with 19.2 points per game. He also grabs 9.0 rebounds and blocks 3.5 shots — a league-leading norm — per contest for the Gin Kings.

But for Aguilar, the numbers are only secondary to helping his teammates end the franchise’s title-drought, which will soon reach six years. Ginebra’s last championship came all the way back in 2008, in that season’s Fiesta Conference.

In the past, Aguilar has pursued his dream of playing stateside, even trying out for a spot in the NBA D-League. For now, however, his only goal is bringing championship glory to Ginebra.

“Ang sa akin lang, lahat ng natutunan ko abroad, my past experiences, yun lang ang ginagamit ko rin. Kaya ako naglalaro ng ganito dahil sa mga past experiences ko,” said Aguilar.