NBA-DL: Japeth Aguilar dubbed 'The Filipino Phenomenon' by D-League site

For Filipino fans, Japeth Aguilar is a guy looking to live the dream. For the NBA Development League's website, he's "the Filipino Phenomenon." Aguilar, who was selected with the 13th pick of the seventh round by the Santa Cruz Warriors, has been featured heavily on the D-League's website, getting a section devoted to him in the weekly "Dev Report," and becoming the subject of a 1-on-1 interview. Under the subheading, "Can Japeth Do It?" NBA-DL's Kevin Scheitrum highlights the barrage of comments the league's Live Draft drew from Filipino readers, who took the time to comment and congratulate Aguilar for getting drafted. Aguilar was also the subject of a lengthy interview, where the 6'9" former Talk 'N Text Tropang Texter in the PBA said that had he not been selected, he would have returned to the Philippines, and played in the Commissioner's Cup, the middle conference of the local professional league. The Western Kentucky University grad also admitted feeling pressure to make it big, saying, "In the Philippines, this is the first time it's happening [a Filipino getting drafted in the D-League], so it's a big deal for basketball followers in the Philippines. So that's when the pressure comes in. "Everyone wants to know how I'm doing. But when you get older you get more mature [so I can handle it more. I'm really working hard. I also don't want to let them down. I'm gonna do the best I can." Since being drafted, Aguilar also said that he has been working on his jump shot and getting stronger, saying, "I want to be stronger and more athletic." Aguilar is currently in the middle of training camp with the Warriors, as the season is set to tip-off on November 23. The team currently has a 17-man roster, and must get that number down to 12 before the first game.  - AMD, GMA News