After a tough 2-1 series win over Meralco, RJ Abarrientos and Brgy. Ginebra will have to wait for a bit to challenge no. 1 NorthPort in the PBA Commissioner's Cup semifinals.
All’s well that ends well for RJ Abarrientos, at least on the basketball court.
After a challenging Game 2 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals against Meralco, where the Ginebra guard was subject to some vicious threats from apparent gamblers, Abarrientos was quick to bounce back in helping the Gin Kings win the series, 2-1.
[Related: PBA coordinates with NBI on RJ Abarrientos death threats post-Game 2, says Marcial]
In the decisive Game 3, Abarrientos fired 16 points with four rebounds and three assists, giving local firepower to aid import Justin Brownlee as Ginebra booked its place in the semifinals.
Despite a strong game, RJ was also quick to give credit to his Ginebra support system, with veterans like LA Tenorio providing crucial basketball insights.
“Malaking tulong yung mga veteran namin like kuya LA, na laging nagg-guide samin,” he said.
“Di kosi namin nakikita yung mga mismatch eh. For me as a guard, yun yung unang tinanong ko kay kuya LA, kung ano pwede ko gawin, ano pwedeng counter sa binabato ng Meralco,” Abarrientos added.
Waiting for Ginebra in the next round are the no. 1 NorthPort Batang Pier, and RJ is relishing the extra time to recover from the tough three-game series against Meralco and prepare for the next opposition.
The PBA is taking a mini break from the Commissioner’s Cup playoffs to accommodate Gilas Pilipinas’ final window of play in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers.
The best-of-7 semifinals start February 26.
“Itong break na binigay samin, ito yung vitamins namin going against NorthPort,” Abarrientos said.
“We just need to move on lang palagi, tignan namin ano mga mali namin sa Meralco and pagbutihan namin sa semis against NorthPort,” he added.
(With reports from Gillian Trinidad/One Sports)