Justin Brownlee has always been a problem for TNT Tropang 5G whenever it battles Barangay Ginebra in the finals.
The resident Kings reinforcement continues to give Tropang 5G head coach Chot Reyes headaches but this time it’s not just the three-time Best Import that he’s worried about.
In the last two seasons, young Ginebra guard RJ Abarrientos added woes to Reyes as he has gotten better and bolder, especially when the game is on the line. He’s been shooting the lights out from deep and is a defensive nightmare once he wiggles his way to the basket.
And the sophomore has been delivering the goods for the Kings in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup finals series, forcing the 11-time champion coach to make a crucial adjustment of matching him with his big man.
It wasn’t the perfect solution but assigning 6-foot-7 Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser to guard him in Game 2 somehow slowed down Abarrientos’ offense, allowing the defending champion to knot the best-of-seven series at 1-1 last Friday.
Reyes hopes the Tropang 5G’s strategy will hold in the pivotal Game 3 at the Mall of Asia Arena, still being played as of press time, and the rest of the title series rematch.
“We just wanted to put some length on RJ because he’s playing at a very high level. If you allow him to get an inch or a peek for good looks, it will surely swish in, whether it’s a three or a four-pointer. We can’t really stop a player like that,” Reyes said, surrendering to the sniping skills of the third overall pick of the 2024 Draft.
In fact, it was Abarrientos’ back-to-back four-pointers in the closing junction of Game 1 that prompted the Kings to draw the first blood, 102-100, last Wednesday. He finished the night with 24 points on 6-of-13 field goal shooting.
It was a bitter lesson learned for Reyes and TNT, so the 11-time champion coach made sure Abarrientos would have to work harder to earn his numbers in the second game. The Tropang 5G took Game 2, 101-94, in a scary escape act.
The 26-year-old Abarrientos still finished with 21 points but it came a little too late as TNT’s defensive scheme held him to just seven points in the first half.
If that didn’t work, it could’ve spelled trouble for the Tropang 5G.
“Our best bet is to make him work for his points. Bother his shots a little bit, hopefully, he will miss a few. We know he’s not gonna miss much but in the end that’s all we can do,” Reyes said.
“All we can do is to do our best to stay in front and make it difficult for him.”
Reyes, admittedly, is in awe of Abarrientos’ skills but at the same time is challenged on finding ways to stymie the Ginebra guard’s game.
“But that’s a basketball adage. Great offense is always going to beat great defense. RJ has surely been showing that for the last four games,” Reyes said.
“He hasn’t missed much since the last two games of the semis up to tonight (Game 2). It’s something for us to continue to think about.”
Even Game 2 hero, Calvin Oftana, felt the 2025 PBA Rookie of the Year and nephew of PBA great and now Ginebra deputy Johnny Abarrientos, is playing on a whole new level.
“He’s playing with great confidence. He was even outplaying Kuya Jayson (Castro). RJ’s confidence is on another level now. It’s been the same throughout the conference,” said Oftana, who dropped a personal season-best 31 points in the series-tying win.
“He’s been like that even before. RJ is already a veteran player if you think about it. We just want him to work for his points.”
