Japeth Aguilar again on Gilas waitlist amid Kai Sotto's knee injury scare

Japeth Aguilar could find himself joining June Mar Fajardo with Gilas again if he is to replace the injured Kai Sotto for the February window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers. PBA Images

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--Japeth Aguilar could see action again for Gilas Pilipinas if the national team rules out Kai Sotto for the February window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.

Gilas head coach Tim Cone said on Sunday night that his trusted Ginebra big man could be inserted into the main Gilas roster again if Sotto's knee injury could be deemed unplayable for Gilas' road trip to Taiwan and New Zealand next month.

"That's why we have Japeth. Japeth is there to replace any of the bigs that we have," Cone said following the Gin Kings' post-New Year's Day win against the San Miguel Beermen at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

Earlier in the day, Sotto fell awkwardly while trying to score against Zach Auguste early into Koshigaya's Japan B.League game against Mikawa.

Sotto was seen clutching to his left knee afterward and was carried out of the court for some first aid.

Although he returned to the Alphas' bench, Sotto never played again and witnessed them fall to the SeaHorses anew helplessly.

Koshigaya has yet to release an update on Sotto's injury as of posting, keeping Gilas fans hoping to see the national team finally in full force anxious.

On the other hand, Cone said that he is open to adding another big man to the Gilas pool as long as his quality is comparable to Aguilar.

"If you can tell me there's another big out there that plays through Japeth's size and ability, I'll be happy to look at him who's eligible and has some experience," Cone further said.

Former University of the Philippines one-and-done center Quentin Millora-Brown implicitly expressed interest in joining Gilas late last year after confirming that he obtained a Philippine passport way before turning 16.

For now, though, Cone is not keen on expanding his current 15-man Gilas pool, which has Sotto, Justin Brownlee, AJ Edu, June Mar Fajardo, Jamie Malonzo, Chris Newsome, Calvin Oftana, CJ Perez, Kevin Quiambao, Dwight Ramos, Carl Tamayo, and Scottie Thompson as the "main 12" and Aguilar, Mason Amos, and Ange Kouame as injury reserves.

"I know that there's a real clamor for a bigger pool, but the way the windows are set up in terms of you have such a small time for preparation, we gotta use that preparation in a tight manner," he further said.

"We're really trying to keep it tight so we can take advantage of our preparation in the time that we have."

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