There was nothing personal whatsoever after RJ Abarrientos dropped a new PBA career-high on the head of Juan Gomez de Liano as the two crossed paths anew in the Season 50 Philippine Cup quarterfinals on Christmas Day.
Last season’s Rookie of the Year made that clear as he took the headlines this time after rifling in 35 big points to power Ginebra to a 105-85 rout, which dragged the twice-to-beat Converge to a do-or-die affair this Sunday
“Wala sa mindset ko ‘yun,” Abarrientos said shortly after the triumph witnessed by a solid crowd at the SMART Araneta Coliseum Thursday night.
Abarrientos clearly stole the show as he shot an impressive 12-of-18 clip from the floor, including 6-of-8 from three-point distance, and also collected three rebounds, four assists, and two steals–all in just 29 minutes of play.
And so, such a stupendous outing gave fans and observers alike the impression that he went out there to get back at his Gilas teammate, knowing that the latter torched the Barangay during their elimination round duel last November.
There, the lefty playmaker fired 32 big points alongside six rebounds and six assists to star in the FiberXers’ 106-96 upset–at the Big Dome as well.
It was the same game in which Coach Tim Cone became the center of online discussions as the champion bench tactician expressed utter disappointment with the rookie’s last-second shot when the game was all but settled.
But in a twist of fate, both squads found themselves going face-to-face in the playoffs’ opening round, and Gomez de Liano no longer had his way.
He was held to only nine points on 10 attempts, and limiting the no. 2 overall pick of the recent draft–and most of the opposition–in such a manner was really the goal of Abarrientos & Co., and not some personal vendetta or any of that.
“Sabi nga ni Coach Tim, lahat sila capable to score, anybody … They are deep and great individual skills. Hindi naman kami tumitingin sa nili-limit namin si Juan, nili-limit namin si Balti (Baltazar), or si (Justin) Arana. We’re not looking at that,” he said.
That’s why Abarrientos couldn’t be any prouder of their effort as a collective in shackling a team as fast-paced as Converge, which enabled the crowd darlings to keep their hopes of advancing to the semifinals very much alive.
“We’re glad na na-contain namin lahat especially on defense lalo na ‘yung second and third group namin na nakapag-sustain [against] sa mga players na alam mong ‘pag pinasok ng Converge is talagang gagawa for Coach Pineda.”
#WATCH: IT WAS A COMPLETE TEAM EXERCISE TONIGHT
Tim Cone says every Ginebra player stepped up to take down a tough Converge squad and keep their hopes alive 🏀#ReadMore 👉 https://t.co/MMe0NVZ2IC
📹 @justinebacnis /Tiebreaker Times#PBA50 pic.twitter.com/k7QhyuDZft
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) December 25, 2025
