Japeth Aguilar suffering from gastro-related issues

BARANGAY Ginebra coach Tim Cone clarified Japeth Aguilar is not injured, but is experiencing gastrointestinal issues that may have been hampering his play as of late in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

Cone confirmed Aguilar isn’t 100 percent, as revealed by his father Peter during an interview at SPIN POV on Tuesday, due to an illness that has yet to be determined.

“It’s not an injury. He’s been having gastro problems,” said Cone. “He’s been throwing up at night, not sleeping, he’s been having a lot of problems like that. We are not sure what it is. We are going to get him checked out.”

Cone said Aguilar’s condition has been bad that they were even considering sitting out Aguilar for Game Three.

“Before practicing in the morning (day before Game Three), he was throwing up quite violently in fact. We weren’t sure if he was going to play,” said Cone.

Aguilar has not been putting up his usual numbers in the playoffs. In Game Three of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals on Wednesday night, he had three points, two rebounds, and one steal in just 19 minutes of action.

He largely watched the endgame from the bench.

But Cone lauded Aguilar for his desire to still play despite his condition, enabling Ginebra to have a key piece against Bay Area in the finals.

“But he has been a trooper, battling threw it, keep coming out, putting his uniform on and keeps playing. Credit to Japeth. He has been bothered by that,” Cone said.

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