RJ Abarrientos is embracing whatever role he’s given, and Wednesday night saw the rookie thrive as Barangay Ginebra’s energy guy off the bench.
The 25-year-old finished with a conference-high 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field. He also had five rebounds, five assists, and a steal – with no turnovers – to lead the Kings to a 112-96 rout of Phoenix at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
And his performance was all the more crucial since it helped the crowd darlings formalize their entry to the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup quarterfinals.
“Siguro, ngayon, I’m just doing the right things,” he said. “Siguro coming off the bench, ‘yung energy-type player, ‘yun ‘yung siguro need namin eh.
“For me, kaya ko naman mag-adjust kahit anong bigay sa akin ng coaches, ng teammates ko,” the crafty playmaker out of FEU furthered.
Abarrientos actually started in some of their games. However, as the conference went by, Coach Tim Cone and his deputies saw it fit to make him come off the bench, with the more seasoned Maverick Ahanmisi delivering the goods.
(C) PBA Images
Needless to say, the third overall pick of the 2024 Draft has been making the most out of it – and making the champion mentor beam with pride.
Especially when they sat beside each other in the postgame press conference, as Abarrientos earned his first-ever Player of the Game citation.
“It’s not going to be his last. He’s going to have a lot of these,” Cone remarked, smiling.
“Right now, I’m just really proud of him because he’s really just grabbing hold on to the role of coming off the bench.”
“He started the first couple of games and then we just got Maverick into the mix and he was playing well, and it just kind of evolved that way. He accepted it and just totally excelled in it,” the 65-year-old bench tactician added.
For Abarrientos, it’s simply about helping an injury-riddled team find other viable options, which they’d need now that the team has reached the quarters.
“Papunta kami sa playoffs, kailangan namin maging deep. Hindi lang sa first five, from the bench din also,” said the former Ulsan Hyundai Mobis and Shinshu import.
“For me, ‘yun ‘yung kailangan kong matutunan, kailangan kong maging 101 percent off the bench na maging energy guy for the team.”
