Far Eastern University head coach Olsen Racela was the least surprised with the fine showing of his prized rookie in RJ Abarrientos, who finally made his debut in the collegiate level in their first game on Saturday at SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Indeed, it wasn’t the first time that fans have heard Abarrientos’ name after his recent stint with Gilas Pilipinas in the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers.
“I’m sure lahat naman kayo hindi surprised, alam niyo na lahat kung anong kayang laruin ni Rhonjay,” said sixth-year Tamaraws head coach.
“Nakita na ng buong Pilipinas yan so I’m not surprised.”
Despite praising the good performance by Abarrientos, Racela knows that the rookie still has more room for improvement moving forward.
“He needs to work on a lot of things and he knows that. Kinausap ko na siya during the game,” the PBA great continued.
Abarrientos, who previously came from the Baby Tamaraws program, didn’t need a lot of time to adjust to the collegiate level.
He made an instant impact for FEU after scoring 14 points before the end of the first half. The 5-foot-10 guard ended the game with 18 points, five rebounds, and two assists in 20 minutes of action against University of Santo Tomas.
He also alluded his solid performance to the excitement that he and the rest of the Tamaraws had after not playing for almost two years.
“Sabi nga ni Coach O almost two long years ‘yung hinintay namin, halos lahat kami mga players and coaches,” the rookie claimed. “Sobrang excited kami dahil nakuha namin ‘yung unang panalo sa first game but marami pa kaming kailangang trabahuhin. Dapat hindi kami ma-kuntento at tuloy-tuloy lang.
“After nitong game namin, babalik kami sa dorm para magtrabaho ulit.”
Abarrientos also bared that a team effort is required from the entire FEU squad in order to sustain their momentum for their upcoming matchups, especially in their next game against Ateneo.
“Kailangan pa namin ma-develop hindi lang ‘yung individual skills, pero siguro as a team lalo na defending champions ung next game namin.
“Hindi kami puwedeng mag-stay sa kung sinong player lang ang puwedeng mag-click or makagawa sa team namin. Dapat mas lumalim ung bench namin, mas magtulungan kami,” the 22-year-old said despite the bench dropping 54 points.
Abarrientos and the rest of the Tamaraws (1-0) will aim to get their second win of the season as they take on Ateneo De Manila University at 1:00 PM on Tuesday at the SM Moa Arena.
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