Barangay Ginebra rookie RJ Abarrientos doesn’t regret taking the last shot — a potential game-tying four-pointer in the dying seconds — which unfortunately missed its mark during the team’s 108-104 loss to Meralco on Friday in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup best-of-three quarterfinal series at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

But the backlash, including death threats Abarrientos received after the game, alarmed the freshman.

Given the situation, it was the best option available according to the guard as the Bolts’ defense locked on resident import Justin Brownlee with time winding down.

“Actually, that was a broken play. That was for JB. I saw the defenders commit on JB, there were two defenders (Chris) Banchero and (Jansen) Rios. So, I just faked a hand-off and then I got a good look at the rim,” said Abarrientos, who was 5-of-14 from the field before his lone four-point attempt.

Abarrientos got a clean look with Banchero a step late on his challenge but the ball bounced off the board and to the rim before landing at the hands of Meralco guard Chris Newsome as time expired.

“There’s no other option but to shoot. It’s either you take the risk or not make any attempt at all. It’s either you win or you lose,” he added.

Moments after the defeat, Abarrientos took to social media to express his concern about the death threats he and even his fiancé received.

A dummy account threatened to have the Ginebra player gunned down after allegedly losing P400K in gambling.

“Posting this for awareness. Grabe talaga mga tao sa social media. Talo lang sa pusta, biglang death threats gamit dummy accounts, pati pamilya dinadamay pa,” the 25-year-old cager posted on his Instagram.

“Paki-report! Nakakaalarma ‘yung ganitong ugali.”

It was a sorry loss but the Kings still have one more crack at making it to the best-of-three semifinals against NorthPort in a sudden death today at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

“We are playing to the best of our ability. This is our job. Losing is part of basketball,” Abarrientos said.

Meanwhile, PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial said that the league has coordinated with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) regarding the death threats received by Abarrientos.

“We’re now coordinating with the proper authority, in this case, the NBI,” he said in a statement.

“We’ve also talked with RJ as well as the Ginebra management. I also have a copy of the messages that’s why I immediately coordinated with the NBI. We want to protect our players from these threats.”