Gilas Pilipinas gave Japeth Aguilar a fitting send-off as it pulled off a 95-71 victory over Guam in the first window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers on Monday night at the Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City.
The 38-year-old Aguilar formalized his retirement from the international arena before tip-off, putting an end to a decorated 16-year career with the national team.
Aguilar said he is grateful to Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) for giving him a chance to represent the country as well as to his previous teammates and coaches like Rajko Toroman, Chot Reyes, Yeng Guiao and Tim Cone for believing in him.
“I’m very thankful to my previous teammates, to the coaching staff and to the SBP management for giving me an opportunity to be part of Gilas,” said Aguilar, who finished with two points in nearly eight minutes of action in his farewell game for the national squad.
“It’s always an honor to represent the Philippines.”
Aguilar kicked off his Gilas journey when Toroman tapped him to become part of the original program in 2009 together with collegiate standouts like Chris Tiu, Mark Barroca, and JV Casio.
Since then, he became a fixture in the program, suiting up in 20 FIBA-sanctioned tournaments, including the World Cups in Spain in 2014, China in 2019, and the Philippines in 2023, as well as two Asian Games and the 30th Southeast Asian Games that Manila hosted in 2019.
He also played a key role in the Filipinos’ dramatic semifinal win over South Korea in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championships and in their historic title run in the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023.
Aguilar already retired from the national squad, but the federation and Cone urged him to give Gilas one more try. With Aguilar finally hanging his jersey, the road is clear for the emergence of young guns like Kai Sotto, AJ Edu and Quentin Millora-Brown to take the cudgels for Gilas Pilipinas.
“It’s the process,” Aguilar said when asked what he will miss in the national team.
“I will miss the preparation – the ups and downs and everything that we went through as a team.”