Cone’s pep talk sparks Abarrientos explosion

Barangay Ginebra guard RJ Abarrientos is a marked man when they try to complete an upset of twice-to-beat Converge in a win-or-go-home Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Philippine Cup quarterfinals encounter at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tomorrow.

Abarrientos waxed hot in the second half, pouring 19 of his career-high 35 points in the fourth quarter that allowed Ginebra to take control for a 105-85 Christmas Day win and force a rubber match.

The Season 49 Rookie of the Year switched from a facilitator to a scorer after a little talk with head coach Tim Cone during the halftime break.

“First of all, I’m just playing the game and then just reading the game, what the defense is giving me,” Abarrientos said.

“And I remember, in the first half earlier, Coach Tim went to me, and he said, like, ‘I’m not looking for my shot and I’m not aggressive.’ That stuck in my mind. And then I kept reminding myself that I cannot allow myself not to do something or contribute to the team because we have no one else to rely on but ourselves and the team.”

“So, I’m very happy and thankful to the coaches for reminding us to play well.”

Abarrientos went 12-of-18 from the field, hitting 6-of-8 from the three-point area.

Stopping Abarrientos’ scoring and forcing him to give up the ball is the FiberXers’ clear mission.

“We need to adjust our defense. That’s what we lacked, especially in defending RJ,” Converge enforcer Archie Concepcion said.

“We have a lot to work on in practice. And we’ll be paying more attention to him,” he added.

Concepcion got a little too physical on Abarrientos in Game 1 and was called for a flagrant foul penalty 1 with 31 seconds remaining, with the game already decided.

The Kings guard went down on the floor, grimacing in pain after receiving an apparent elbow to the stomach from Concepcion.

Abarrientos was given a pair of charities to cap his career night.

“It’s just a mind game. It’s okay, he did that. Just move on. I don’t mind,” Abarrientos said.

“My motivation is to win. I don’t care about what happened in the past. No need for extra motivation (in Game 2).”