Japeth Aguilar, the versatile big man who grew up here but played college basketball in the US, is weighing his options whether he will join next month’s PBA Rookie Draft or sign a three-year contract with the national team.

According to the 6-foot-9 Aguilar, he is in constant communication with his father, one-time PBA player Peter Aguilar, as they discussed what would be their next move as far as his basketball career is concerned.

Aguilar, 24, recently joined practice of the Powerade-Team Pilipinas of coach Joseller “Yeng” Guiao in preparation for the Jones Cup this month. He is the only amateur player in the team.

“Sa ngayon focus muna ako sa national team (of Guiao),” Aguilar, who once played for Ateneo before joining Western Kentucky University, a division 1 school in the US NCAA, told the Bulletin in a telephone interview yesterday.

With PBA reigning MVP Kelly Williams still out with a blood illness, Aguilar will get quality minutes in the national team during the Jones Cup.

After the Jones Cup, Guiao is expected to announce the line-up for the FIBA-Asia Championship in Tianjin, China on August 6 to 16, despite threats of the country’s possible suspension from the FIBA, the world governing body for basketball.

The FIBA-Asia tournament, where Guiao is the coach, offers slots to the top three finishers to the 2010 World Championship in Turkey.

If suspended, the national team of Serbian mentor Rajko Toroman, the special director of Smart-Gilas, will also be barred from seeing action in FIBA-events, including the FIBA-Asia Champion, the qualifying meet for the 2012 London Olympics.

“Sa ngayon we’re still weighing our options. Wala pa talaga akong decision,” Agular said.

If Aguilar decides to join the Rookie Draft, which has a July 22 deadline for local aspirants before the August 2 Draft, he is projected to be the top overall pick, one who can bring toughness on the defensive end and versatility on offense.

His possible destination is Barako Bull.

The Barako Bull is a rebuilding team that finished dead-last in the two conferences this season. The PBA, via a lottery pick, will decide next week which team selects first in the Draft.

Another probable destination for Aguilar is the National Basketball Developmental League (NBDL) or D-League, where he recently attended the pre-Draft Camp. He said that there are at least three teams that expressed desire to have him for next season starting October.