Is Japeth a Joke?

Japeth Paul C. Aguilar is supposed to be the future, the would-be face of Philippine basketball. He is supposed to be thisclose to becoming the first Filipino ever to play in the National Basketball Association. For now, however, he is the biggest disappointment in Pinoy hoops, an overhyped bust who has failed to live up to the lofty expectations that preceded him.

The six-foot-nine Aguilar managed to string together a few good tuneup games last year against PBA teams, but ranged against taller, heftier, more talented opponents in international tuneup games and tournaments, the 23-year-old former Western Kentucky Hilltopper has been woefully erratic and oftentimes mediocre. Against topflight competition, Aguilar has stunk badly, looking a lot more like a boy among men and a lot less of an NBA prospect. He has made no impact at all---no double-doubles, no monster 20-20s; just a splattering of six-point, five-rebound efforts. The much-ballyhooed Aguilar, in fact, has often been outshone by the diminutive trio of JV Casio, Chris Tiu, and Andy Barroca.

So far, Aguilar has been underwhelming, unimpressive, and uninspiring. He is soft, plays on the perimeter, has no post game whatsoever, and shies away from contact. At times he looks lost and lackadaisical, other times tentative and scared, sometimes detached and disengaged. On offense, he wanders too much on the perimeter, drifting to the three-point line when he should be fighting for position in the paint and shooting threes when he should be attacking the basket. On defense, he is relatively useless---disappointingly clueless on how to use his size, length, and athleticism to make an impact defensively a la Rudy Hatfield or Marc Pingris.

Now it appears that Aguilar has possible attitude problems, even personal issues. In Smart Gilas's recent U.S. tour, he allegedly brought along his girlfriend, which was, according to a report, an "apparent breach of trust." Bringing along a girlfriend may not be much on the surface, but the fact is, it reveals an underlying lack of focus and worse, hubris. Bottomline is he shouldn't have done it. No one else did, why should he? He was there to compete and learn the game, not smooch around with his newly minted beau.

Granted, Aguilar was indeed served a full plate way too early. People asked---perhaps even expected---Aguilar to mature, learn the game, and play at an extremely high level immediately, and apparently, this all-in-one, all-at-the-same time process has taken its toll on the young man. But even this argument rings hollow. Aguilar can't use pressure and lofty expectations as excuses. He brought all of these to himself. He enjoyed the attention. He wanted it, and he enjoyed it. He enjoyed being the talk of the town. He soaked in all the ego-inflating superlatives written about him and he basked in the glow of the spotlight. Aguilar put himself front and center in the unforgiving spotlight of Philippine basketball, and now, he is shrinking just as the stakes are getting higher.

Sadly, tragically, Japeth Aguilar is turning into Marlou Aquino 2.0: great size, tantalizing potential, stomach-squirming play, disappointing attitude. At least Aquino wasn't this gifted. Aguilar, on the other hand, is a different story. He is too good, too gifted to be this bad, this disappointing, this ineffective. For a six-foot-nine, long-limbed, fleet-footed, uber-athlete to be this shockingly inept is unacceptable, especially when he is all but carrying the hopes of an entire basketball-crazy nation. Much has been given to Japeth Aguilar, and much is expected of him.

And rightfully so. Japeth Paul C. Aguilar is supposed to be the future, the would-be face of Philippine basketball. Now, he has to start playing the part. Unless, of course, he's nothing but hype.