PLAYER PROFILE

Powerade Team Pilipinas After his stint with the Hilltoppers and NBA tryouts, Aguilar returned to the Philippines without much fanfare mostly due to his poor performance in the United States. Nonetheless, he decided to suit up for the Yeng Guiao-coached Powerade Team Pilipinas that participated in the 2009 FIBA Asia Championship held in Tianjin, China. He was sparingly used by Guiao in that tournament. Nevertheless, the apparent lack of skill in the upcoming draft along with the hype that accompanied him during his tenure in the United States, projected him to be the first pick overall in the 2009 PBA draft. PBA and Smart Gilas As expected, the Burger King Whoppers nabbed Aguilar as its overall No.1 draft pick in the 2009 PBA draft; however days after the draft, he boldly declared that he would join the Smart Gilas Pilipinas developmental basketball program coached by Serbian Rajko Toroman, a move which caused controversy within the PBA and angst especially by the team that drafted him. PBA Governor Lito Alvarez, even went to the extent of banning Aguilar from the league for his refusal to sign with the Whoppers. An amicable settlement was reached on October 9, 2009, two days before the 35th PBA season. With SBP president Manny Pangilinan and executive director Noli Eala intervening and at Alvarez's behest, Aguilar signed the one-year contract with the Whoppers, which included him playing for a few games with them then he would be traded to Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters (Pangilinan's PBA team) which would then release him to Smart Gilas as he wanted. Alvarez even said that before Aguilar signed their contract, the former already has had the latter's No. 18 uniform which the Whoppers made. Aguilar played his only professional game with the Whoppers against the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants in the PBA season opener, which ended in a 93–80 loss to the Giants. Immediately after, Aguilar got his wish as the Whoppers traded him to the Tropang Texters in exchange for future draft picks, indirectly through Barako Bull Energy Boosters which acted as the conduit team. As expected, TNT loaned him to Smart Gilas where he stayed there until after the 2012 London Olympics Asian Qualifier as per his Gilas contract. Pursuing the NBA dream Aguilar is the first player born and raised in the Philippines to ever receive an invitation to work out with an NBA team. Days before the evaluation, Aguilar attended some open workouts hosted by the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Developmental League. Aguilar's team lost but he had managed to put up some notable statistics. He finished the game with 10 points (shooting five from nine field goal attempts), five blocks, four rebounds and an assist. His performance also included three electrifying dunks. After the workout with the Jam, Aguilar is said to have made it to the top 20 amongst 80 players who had attended the open workout. In late September 2012, Aguilar was invited to a two-day workout with the New Orleans Hornets. After the workout, Hornets scout Don Sellers liked Aguilar's athleticism, agility and potential, but believed he was not yet ready for the NBA. Shortly after, in early October 2012, Aguilar worked out with NBA D-League team, the Santa Cruz Warriors. The Warriors expressed that they would draft him if he was still available when their turn came in the draft. 2012 NBA D-League draft He was the 109th overall draft pick of the 2012 NBA D-League draft; drafted 13th in the 7th round. Santa Cruz Warriors On November 2, Japeth Aguilar’s pursuit of his NBA dream got closer to reality after he became the first ever Filipino to be drafted in the NBA Developmental League. Santa Cruz Warriors, the D-League affiliate of the Golden State Warriors in the NBA, selected Aguilar as the thirteenth pick in the seventh round, selected as 109th overall out of 139 players. Aguilar, who attended a series of workouts with several NBA teams before joining the NBA D-League draft, was described as a "work in progress" by the New Orleans Hornets talent scout Don Sellers. After surviving two cuts, Santa Cruz Warriors waived Aguilar on November 22. On December 5, Japeth Aguilar signs a Practice Player Contract with Santa Cruz Warriors, Japeth Aguilar has not given up on his attempt to make it into the NBA. After being the last man cut from the NBA D-League team, the Santa Cruz Warriors, he was offered a spot on the practice line-up which he has now put a signature on. Aguilar now hopes that he can slowly make his way onto the active line-up and then make some heads turn to maybe make an NBA team. Return to PBA After a failed attempt to play in NBA, he requested a trade from the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters. He was then traded to GlobalPort Batang Pier for Rabeh Al-Hussaini. In June 11, 2013, GlobalPort was part of a 4-team trade and Aguilar was sent to Ginebra. Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (2013-present) Aguilar was paired with Greg Slaughter and they were dubbed the "Twin Towers". He is able to show his athleticism and jumping ability by routinely making a dunk almost every game and swatting shots. In his first game for the Kings, Aguilar tallied 18 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocks against San Mig Super Coffee Mixers. He tallied his first double-double the next game against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters by logging 19 points and 10 rebounds. In a December 8, 2013 game against Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters, Aguilar knocked down a 3-point shot to give the Kings a 97-95 lead with 1.1 seconds remaining. In the subsequent play, he blocked the game tying field goal attempt by Ranidel de Ocampo to secure the victory. He finished the game with 21 point, 12 rebounds and 7 blocks in 38 minutes. In December 28, 2013 against the Meralco Bolts, he knocked down the game winning 3 point shot at the buzzer to attain an 83-82 victory. He finished the game with 15 points and 11 rebounds. With his newfound confidence, he now leads the team in scoring, and is one of the leading candidates for Best Player of the Conference trophy in the 2013–14 PBA Philippine Cup, trailing statistical points leader June Mar Fajardo.