PBA: Japeth Aguilar goes from hero to goat in Ginebra loss to Meralco

Japeth Aguilar could have been the hero of the game for Barangay Ginebra after draining a game-tying corner trey with 42 seconds left against Meralco on Sunday night.

The play was originally for the Gin Kings' two imports, Orlando Johnson and Jiwan Kim, but they found Aguilar alone beyond the arc and decided to make the pass.

"Nag-space out lang talaga ako nun, gusto ko lang silang mabigyan ng room then ki-nick out saken. Tutal kailangan talaga namin ng three-points, tinira ko na," he said.

The moment of glory was short-lived, however, as the athletic 6-foot-9 forward was unable to stop Bolts' import Andre Emmett from getting the winning basket for Meralco, rendering his late triple for naught.

"Mahihirap 'yung binitawan nung import nila. Well-contested naman pero talagang pumapasok," said Aguilar, who finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, and three blocks.

Emmett scored 34 points for the Bolts, who handed Ginebra a 102-99 loss that put the Gin Kings at 10th place in the standings with a 3-6 card.

The team is in danger of failing to qualifying for the playoffs, with third-ranked Barako Bull as their second to the last assignment before facing struggling NLEX for their last game.

"Sobrang hirap 'yung chances namin. Either manalo kami sa dalawang game namin, kailangan pa naming umasa na matalo din 'yung iba," Aguilar said.

Despite finding their Governors' Cup campaign in peril, the Gilas Pilipinas stalwart remains positive that they can pull through with head coach Frankie Lim calling the shots for the team.

"Basta never say die lang. Kahit na natatalo kami, basta keep improving with coach Frankie's system," he said. - JST, GMA News