RJ Abarrientos is heading to his first-ever PBA Finals in his maiden conference in the league.
His Barangay Ginebra earned the right to challenge TNT for the Governors’ Cup crown in a rematch of their 2023 championship bout.
This also means that the 25-year-old playmaker is set to face some of his other childhood idols again – all while trying to help the Kings win their fifth title in the tournament since 2016 after being foiled by the Tropang Giga last year.
“Siyempre, looking forward ako na makalaban ‘yung mga tinitingala ko, mga pinapanood ko lang nung high school, college ako,” he told reporters moments after their 102-99 Semis Game 6 win over San Miguel on Sunday night.
Abarrientos was referring mainly to Jayson Castro, whom he will surely be guarding in the best-of-7 titular bout that commences this Sunday in what should be an intriguing matchup between two generations of point guards.
That would be another challenge for the third overall selection of the 2024 Draft, as he had just gone up against Far Eastern University great Terrence Romeo in the recently-concluded semis in a battle between two Tamaraws.
He did get the best of the UAAP Season 76 MVP, no doubt, performing more consistently as evidenced by the per-game averages of 13.3 points on 45-percent shooting, 2.8 rebounds, and 3.6 assists he put up in the series.
That, of course, included the stellar Game 5 he had last Friday, where he fired a conference-high 28 points while helping limit Romeo to only two points.
He then went on to contribute 16 in the series-clinching win witnessed by a solid crowd at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, with his 32-year-old counterpart curiously underutilized by SMB that led to a scoreless outing in seven minutes.
“Pinapanood ko lang si Kuya Terrence and parehas kami FEU. Same lang din kina Kuya Jayson Castro, and Kelly Williams – ‘yung mga matatagal na sa PBA,” said Abarrientos, who will also face another former FEU guard in Roger Pogoy.
The former Gilas stalwart is under no illusion, though, that he’ll have his way against Castro and the Tropa in the championship series.
“Siyempre, ‘di nila ako paiisahin. Sigurado ‘yun,” offered Abarrientos. “Siguradong ‘di ako paiisahin ng mga beteranong kuyas na ‘yun.”
All that he wants is for Ginebra to sustain its rhythm from the hard-fought series the team has gone through – first against Meralco in the quarters, then versus San Miguel where they traded Ws before winning Games 5 and 6.
“Hopefully makuha namin ‘yung rhythm ngayon, na nakalaban namin SMB. Hindi naging madali ang journey ng team namin – versus Meralco, versus San Miguel. Hopefully, madala namin ‘yan sa Finals,” he said.
