Japeth Aguilar could get another tour of duty as Tim Cone is contemplating on tapping him as replacement of injured Jamie Malonzo for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga, Latvia from 2 to 7 July.

The Gilas Pilipinas head coach yesterday said Aguilar has what it takes to serve as Malonzo’s replacement as he knows his system like the back of his hand.

Aside from Aguilar, who also plays for Cone at Barangay Ginebra in the Philippine Basketball Association, also being considered is Ateneo de Manila University standout Mason Amos.

“We’re hoping that Japeth will join us as the 12th man,” Cone said in an interview, adding that Malonzo will be out for several months after undergoing surgery on his injure calf.

Playing for Gilas as a last-minute substitute is no longer new for the 37-year-old Aguilar.

After retiring from national duty after the 19th Asian Games last year, Aguilar was hired as a substitute for injured June Mar Fajardo and AJ Edu in the opening window of the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers against Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei early this year.

“We played without AJ Edu, we played without June Mar the last time. So, what’s nice about Japeth is that he knows our system really well and he could teach other players,” Cone said, adding that Aguilar has yet to agree.

“We’re going to move in Japeth again. We haven’t gotten confirmation from Japeth yet that he will join us.”