RJ Abarrientos and Far Eastern University have yet to find an answer to their struggles after suffering their third straight loss against University of the Philippines, 70-73, on Tuesday morning.
In the closing seconds of the fourth quarter, Harold Alarcon had a chance to stretch UP’s three-point lead with his trip to the line. He went on to miss both of his free-throw attempts. That allowed Abarrientos to bring the ball down the floor in the ensuing possession.
The Gilas guard still managed to put a desperation shot, but it only hit the side of the board while the buzzer sounded.
Abarrientos claimed that the players inside the court had a misunderstanding in the previous possessions leading up to the final play. Nonetheless, luck wasn’t on their side this time around. The ball failed to find the bottom of the net, which could’ve sent the game to overtime.
“Hindi nagka-intindihan ‘yung lima sa loob.
“Naka-recover naman but ‘yung segundo na kailangan namin is hindi namin nakuha. So better shot parin para sa’kin ‘nun dahil nagtiwala naman sa’kin sila coach. But ‘di lang talaga shu-moot,” he admitted.
In the first round of the tournament, Abarrientos led the Tamaraws with 14.86 points and 2.29 assists in seven games played. He still managed to stay close to his line of averages against UP after tallying 13 points and two rebounds in 29 minutes of action.
Even though the opposing teams have been tightening up their defense against him, Abarrientos has been staying ready thanks to the adjustments made by the FEU coaching staff.
“Inaasahan ko na ‘yun nung second round, and ‘yung mga coaches rin sinabi na hindi magiging madali ‘yung second round namin. Lalo na’t nakatutok na sa’kin mga depensa,” the 22-year-old gunslinger shared.
“Ready naman ako sa mga binibigay nilang depensa sa’kin. But thanks to the coaches talaga dahil sila parin ‘yung nagbibigay ng mga plays para ma-open up ako.”
It will only be an uphill battle from here, as the Tamaraws continue to fight for a Final Four spot after dropping to a 3-6 record. Still, Abarrientos chooses to look at the brighter side of things. He pointed out that they need to take it one game at a time despite their ongoing struggles.
“Iniisip namin na one game at a time lang, so eto ‘yung binigay sa’ming chance eh. Binigay namin ‘yung best namin sa game na ‘to pero natalo pa din. So wala naman kaming dapat isisi sa bawat isa. Nag-stick lang rin naman kami sa system,” he said.
For him, their string of losses will only aid their development moving forward, especially with the young roster that they have right now.
“Yung maturity ng bawat isa, yun ‘yung kailangan naming ma-build up dito sa team, lalo na’t puro rookie kami at halos puro bago kami,” he said. “Para sa’min, better din na nangyari sa’min ngayon dahil alam namin na ma-iimprove namin ‘to. Lahat ng ito ay lessons para sa amin – lahat ng losses namin.
“Si Coach O [Racela] naman nagsabi sa’min, tough loss for us pero nandun naman ‘yung effort namin at tiwala sa isa’t isa.”
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