Filipino NBA prospect postpones workout with D-League team Iowa Energy

Japeth Aguilar has postponed his scheduled workout with NBA Development League team Iowa Energy after suffering a hamstring injury over the weekend.

The former Talk ’N Text 6-foot-9 forward pulled his left hamstring in a shootaround, forcing his Filipino-Amercian agent Chris McGarry to cancel his participation in the tryout held in Chicago, according to the Asian Journal, a US-based Filipino community daily.

McGarry said the injury wouldn’t be a hindrance though when the 25-year-old Aguilar pursues his dream of becoming the first Filipino to be picked in the NBA D-League Draft on Nov. 2.

“It happened a few days before the workout with Iowa. It’s nothing serious. It’s just a matter of one muscle is weak and the other is strong. All athletes go through this,” McGarry told the Asian Journal.

“The good news is, though he wasn’t able to play in the tryout, he did meet with the coaches and staff. They got to know him,” McGarry added.

For the past two months, the 2009 PBA Draft top pick has been trying his luck with several NBA and D-League teams.

The 215-pound Aguilar worked out with the San Antonio Spurs, New Orleans Hornets and Los Angeles Clippers but wasn’t successful.

The Bakersfield Jam, Santa Cruz Warriors and Los Angeles D-Fenders were the D-League squads where Aguilar flaunted his skills.

The D-League, which allows only 10 players for each of the 16 teams, is the farm league of the NBA and presents the best opportunity for Aguilar to barge into the NBA. A total of 60 D-League ballers were elevated to the NBA last year.

“It’ll be historic if it happens,” McGarry, who played under Turo Valenzona for the FEU Tamaraws in 1980-81 and later played with Aguilar’s father Peter in the defunct Philippine Amateur Basketball League.

Gifted with a seven-foot wingspan and 36-inch vertical leap, Aguilar played for the Ateneo Blue Eagles and the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers in the US NCAA.

He also played for the Smart Gilas national team, which placed fourth in the Fiba Asia Championship last year. /inquirer