RJ Abarrientos still enjoys the trust and confidence of Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone despite a forgettable performance in Game 2 of their Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup best-of-seven finals series against TNT Tropang Giga last Sunday.
Cone, the league’s most decorated mentor with 25 titles, said nothing has changed as he still sees Abarrientos as the future of the team despite his sour performance in their razor-thin 71-70 victory over the Tropang Giga in Game 2.
“He’s a veteran in terms of knowing the game but he’s still a rookie in terms of knowing our game and the way we play,” Cone said, referring to the third overall pick of the recent draft who went 0 for 7 from the field to finish with a single point in Game 2 after dropping 13 markers in Game 1.
“I thought he took a bad shot at that time. He could have gotten to the basket a little better. He’ll learn from that, he’ll get better from it.”
Despite playing in just his first season in the PBA, the 25-year-old guard is already a seasoned warrior after seeing international action for Gilas Pilipinas and the Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus in the 2022-203 season of the Korean Basketball League and Shinshu Brave Warriors in the 2023-2024 season of the Japan B.League.
Cone said he expects Abarrientos to learn from his blunder and come back strong as they look to take a 2-1 lead in the Commissioner’s Cup. Game 3 of this tightly-fought series is still being played at press time.
“I had a lot of trust in him that I put him down there in the stretch, and I expect him to make decisions. He failed from that one and he’ll learn from it,” Cone said.
Veteran guard Scottie Thompson shares some of the blame as he also hopes to learn from his mistakes as they battle the dangerous Tropang Giga in Game 3.
Thompson, who had a double-double game of 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Kings in Game 2, made a bad pass as Calvin Oftana stole the ball with nine seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Ginebra heaved a sigh of relief as that possession went for naught for the Tropang Giga after Rondae Hollis-Jefferson missed a crucial shot in the dying seconds.