Best player in the PBA? Like his uncle Johnny, Tim Cone has high expectations for no. 3 pick RJ Abarrientos

Legendary PBA coach Tim Cone has always had a great eye for talent.

Cone had his sights on young point guard RJ Abarrientos since time immemorial, and he finally got him on Sunday, July 14 when Ginebra nabbed the coveted guard with the third overall pick in the PBA Season 49 Rookie Draft.

There’s no doubt in Cone’s mind this latest pick up will do wonders for the Gin Kings, who traded away Best Player of the Conference Christian Standhardinger and Stanley Pringle to Terrafirma for Stephen Holt and Isaac Go.

[RELATED STORY: PBA Draft: Ginebra uses third pick acquired from Terrafirma to select RJ Abarrientos]

Coach Tim has no doubt because after all, RJ is an Abarrientos.

“We’re really excited. I think he’s gonna be an elite player in his position,” Cone said of RJ, who is the nephew of PBA great and now Magnolia assistant coach Johnny.

As if that wasn’t enough, Cone went as far as saying that his prized ward could emerge as the best PBA player if things go their way.

“The [apple] don’t fall far from the tree,” Cone said, referring to the second generation player who is currently playing for Strong Group Athletics in the Jones Cup in Taiwan.

“I told Johnny on stage if RJ can be half the player that his uncle was, then he’s gonna be the best player in the PBA.”

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When the coach with 25 PBA championships says so, one should be inclined to believe it.

Under Cone, the elder Abarrientos also blossomed as one of the best point guards, if not the best, the league has seen in close to five decades. The two won multiple championships at Alaska, including a Grand Slam in 1996.

Coincidentally, Johnny was also the no. 3 pick in his PBA Draft, selected by coach Tim.

Cone could pull off the same now, this time with the 25-year-old playmaker who has made a name for himself in the Korean Basketball League and Japan B.League.

The Flying A, a former PBA MVP and a member of the league’s 40 Greatest Players, knows his nephew is in good hands.

“Knowing RJ, for sure he wants the best. Sana ma-accomplish niya yung goal na hinahangad nya someday with Ginebra and with coach Tim,” said the elder Abarrientos.