THE championship in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup may be still anybody’s game at this time but the top individual awards this conference might be nothing but formality as the two big-time players from Barangay Ginebra — RJ Abarrientos and Justin Brownlee — appeared to be locked in to secure the Best Player of the Conference and Best Import, respectively.
Numbers would be enough to back up such claims, but more than the figures, the impact had been clearly felt by diehards of the league’s most popular squad as the Gin Kings are making a solid run to win their first title in three years.
Watching Abarrientos was a sight to behold.
The nephew of PBA great Johnny Abarrientos, the smallest player ever to win the Most Valuable Player award, is living up to the family name, but unlike his great uncle, the younger cager believes he still has a lot to prove.
At this early stage of his career, RJ has been making his mark.
He’s been a big-time performer, knocking down one clutch shots after another throughout the conference.
In the series opener against TNT, Abarrientos hit two crucial four-point shots that weathered the Tropang 5G’s late rally as the league’s crowd darling escaped with a 102-100 victory.
Abarrientos led the way with 24 markers to go with seven assists and two steals, but more importantly, the ability to perform when needed the most is what makes this second-year cager truly special.
He’s making his Uncle Johnny truly proud.
“He has learned to embrace that bigger responsibility,” the elder Abarrientos told The Manila Times. “At first, he was still adjusting. Now, he’s started to learn to embrace the ups and downs of the game. Not everything is going to be perfect and easy.”
“But what was admirable was the way he worked on his game off the court, and that’s something that was not seen by the fans or the public. The work he puts in before he became RJ Abarrientos.”
Johnny had seen how his nephew blossom to become a young star in the league.
He is not claiming to have a bigger impact in RJ’s game growing up as the young player was always on his own.
“Most of the time, he was not home. Sometimes, it would take days or probably a week before he would return home, but he would go home with a trophy,” said Johnny. “I never had an opportunity coaching him growing up.”
According to Johnny, RJ started his basketball career as a shooting guard and it wasn’t surprising that he was able to develop that scorer’s mentality right at an early age but when he joined the PBA, that’s the time the 1996 MVP and member of Alaska’s grand slam team that same year gave his nephew an advice to change his mindset.
“He’s really exposed to playing in different leagues. He was able to develop his game early, so when he was able to develop his fundamentals at FEU, basketball became easier for him,” added Johnny.
“Of course, in the PBA, it’s a tougher league. He needs to trust his game more. At times, he needs to carry on his shoulders some of the games when the game was on the line. It’s not easy, but it’s a great feeling that half of the team were relying on you, then the journey, especially when winning, that’s more satisfying.”
But there’s one chink on RJ’s armor and Johnny knows his nephew and now player needs to improve his defense.
Unlike Johnny who was feared by everyone whenever they have the basketball, RJ has always been exposed by opponents on the defensive side, attacking him whenever they can.
“That’s something we’ve been working on,” said Johnny, also an assistant coach at Ginebra, who is hands on in teaching his nephew to become a tough defender. “He doesn’t have to be exactly just like me, but he just needs to learn the techniques of defending properly and more efficiently. In the PBA, you need to be a two-way player if you want to last longer.”
His defense may be a weakness, but the impact the young Abarrientos brought in his game this conference was truly outstanding, that’s why he is a cinch to win the Best Player of the Conference.
Prior to the start of the best-of-seven championship series against TNT, Abarrientos has been averaging 22 points, 3.67 rebounds, 5.33 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
The series opening victory over the Tropang 5G cemented Abarrientos’ hold of securing the prestigious award, one that would jumpstart a promising career and a way of keeping the family legacy.
