The National Basketball Association (NBA) season might have ended with the Los Angeles Lakers recent championship victory, but there's still plenty of action for hopefuls looking to get started on the game's biggest stage.
Among them is Filipino basketball player Japeth Aguilar, formerly of the Ateneo Blue Eagles in his home country, who is taking his first steps to making it in the NBA. The 22-year-old native of the province of Pampanga joined 200 or so fellow prospects at a recent gathering of the NBA Development League in Hawthorne, a first-ring suburb just south of Los Angeles. The goal of the hopefuls was to get noticed and land a spot in Development League — or D-League — which functions as a farm system for the big-league teams.
"This is really an opportunity for the players to come to one location in front of all our coaches, a lot of our scouts, league office people who'll eventually sign the players to contracts, and an opportunity for them to showcase their skills to show what they can possibly do in the NBA D-League level," said Chris Alpert, vice president of Basketball Operations and player personnel for the NBA Development League.
The D-League has produced a number of players to the NBA. Most notably, Shannon Brown of the Los Angeles Lakers was a member of three D-League teams before being called up. Former Los Angeles Clippers player Bobby Simmons went from D-League player to winning the NBA's Most Improved Player award in 2005.
Aguilar said that going through the D-League is a great way to get into the NBA.
"This experience is really good," he told the Asian Journal. "You get a chance to compete with other people trying to make it to the next level too. You know they are going to give it their best. You can see how you compare yourself with them."
Aguilar succeeded in drawing attention to his 6'10" frame, which gives him a leg up on making it to the NBA, as scouts at the event to notice of his game.
"He's got a lot of potential," said Hernando Planells, a representative of Scouting Services for the NBA. "Athletically, he can run with the best big mans out there. He's long, athletic. Athleticism is the key to the game. Whether it's international or the NBA so I think he has the potential to do some damage."
The attention is nothing new for the former Ateneo star, who became the first Philippines-born player to win a Division I scholarship when he signed on with Western Kentucky University (WKU) two years ago. A series of nagging injuries kept him from fulfilling his potential at WKU, though, so now he's taking another road, hoping to be the first Philippine born player to make in the D-League or the NBA.
The same 6'10" frame that helps Aguilar get noticed also presents some challenges, however. Aguilar is a bit of a "tweener" in NBA parlance, a player who is able to play two positions — center or forward — but is not ideally suited to play either.
"I liked that he's long," said Ben MacDonald, assistant coach for the Eerie Bayhawks of the NBA D-League. "He can run the court well for a guy his size. He has good hands. He finishes around the basket pretty well. He just needs to find his game."
Aguilar said that his experience during the pre-draft camp was great. He also said that it's going to be tough.
"It's going to be hard but it's not impossible," said Aguilar. "This is just a stepping-stone. I've already spoken to a lot of teams. Hopefully, I can do well."
Aguilar also said that he knows that he has a whole nation rooting for him.
"Thank you to all the supporters out there," he said. "Hopefully, I can achieve my goals and people will recognize the Philippines."
Aguilar will remain busy in any case. He rejoined the Philippine National team shortly after the D-League camp, and will compete in the Jones Cup and the FIBA Asia Men's basketball championships in China.
Joseph Pimentel is a writer for Asian Journal.
Photo of Japeth Aguilar by Joseph Pimentel
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