Japeth's agent fires back at Chot on Twitter
Japeth Aguilar may be without a team as of the moment, but he is still the center of attention – at least on Twitter.
The six-foot-nine slotman, who last played for Talk ‘N Text in the PBA, found himself the recipient of some “fatherly advice” from his former coach, Chot Reyes, a day after an article came out where Aguilar said he no longer wanted to play for TNT because of lack of playing time.
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Last Monday Reyes, who is currently in Hong Kong with the Gilas cadet pool, took to Twitter to give Aguilar a piece of his mind in a series of tweets:
Fatherly advice to @japethaguilar35: I read an article bout u @spin.ph. Dunno if these are ur thoughts but fr a 20-yr vet in this industry:
— Chot Reyes (@coachot) January 21, 2013
1. It's not good to publicly demand to be traded, esp due to playing time, ESP when ur team just won d title. This smacks of selfishness
— Chot Reyes (@coachot) January 21, 2013
2. If u really want to play, why go to NBA/NBDL? U think u can play a lot there? U played 20mins/g in ur last AllFil stint.This not enough?
— Chot Reyes (@coachot) January 21, 2013
3.Son,playing time is EARNED,not demanded/expected.Wanna play at crunchtime?Work SOHARD ur coach cnt afford 2 sit u. If he does,work anyway!
— Chot Reyes (@coachot) January 21, 2013
4. U are d most physically gifted Pinoy baller EVER. But why dint u play at WKentucky? At Gilas? In NBDL? It's d coaches fault?Think bout it
— Chot Reyes (@coachot) January 21, 2013
5. I have nothing to gain whatever u decide cept I want whats best 4 u.Come home son.Make ur name here.THIS is where u belong #pinoypride
— Chot Reyes (@coachot) January 21, 2013
6. So cmon, play 8 or 48 mins, get ur ass kicked, dunk on somebody - but do it HERE. And know whatever happens, I will be behind u always.
— Chot Reyes (@coachot) January 21, 2013
The following day, one of Aguilar’s Philippine-based agents, Matthew Manotoc (@mmmanotoc), came to his client’s defense, blasting Reyes for criticizing the athletic center in public, while also denying that Aguilar had requested for a trade. Manotoc posted this series of tweets on Tuesday morning:
"wow, it's real a shame @coachot had to put @japethaguilar35 on blast for a random @spinph article. fathers talk personally not via twitter."
"@coachot 1stly, @japethaguilar35 never said he wanted 2b traded. 2ndly, jap averaged 15min due 2 injuries/rest 2 others. let's be real."
"@japethaguilar35, don't let any1 make decisions 4 U. u're ur own man and make the decision that is best for u. the hell w/ the rest of them."
As of this writing, Reyes has yet to publicly respond to Manotoc's tweets.
Aguilar is still in Chicago. He was drafted in the seventh round of the NBDL draft by the Santa Cruz Warriors but failed to land a roster spot, although the team asked him to be a practice player. Even though he no longer has a live contract with Talk 'N Text, the Tropang Texters still hold Aguilar's rights, so any attempt by another team to sign him up must be coursed through them.