After RJ Abarrientos torched the Converge FiberXers for 35 points in Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s Christmas Day victory, there was no doubt he would be a marked man. And, indeed, he was in the two teams’ return engagement, with a PBA Philippine Cup semis spot on the line. Mike Garcia, Alec Stockton, Archie Concepcion, and JL Delos Santos all took turns defending the former FEU Tamaraw, and each grabbed, held, bumped, and pushed the ex-KBL Rookie of the Year all game long.
That physicality initially seemed to throw off Abarrientos—until he settled down to help Ginebra escape Converge, 99–98, on Stephen Holt’s dramatic game-winning buzzer-beater. That physical defense did wonders nevertheless, as the FiberXers held Abarrientos to just 20 points on 4-for-11 shooting. So, it wasn’t the least bit surprising that the San Miguel Beermen used that same physicality on Season 49’s top rookie in Game 1 of the semis series between San Miguel and Ginebra.
Abarrientos Handles San Miguel’s Physicality with Relative Ease
But despite the Beermen’s best efforts, Abarrientos still came away with a team-high 23 points, on top of 4 rebounds and 7 assists, while masterfully orchestrating a fired-up Ginebra offense. It turns out the second-generation star was ready for all that physical play thrown at him by Chris Ross and company. And Abarrientos admitted later on that he had been preparing for it and had seen it firsthand with the way Converge played him—especially in that winner-take-all game.
“Nakatulong sa ‘kin individually ‘yung physicality ng Converge—the way they played defense against me,” Abarrientos noted after Ginebra’s Game 1 win over San Miguel. “‘Yun ang in-adopt ko going against the veteran team San Miguel… Sobrang pinaghandaan ko ‘yung physicality nung Converge game pa lang, so ‘yun ‘yung in-adopt ko. Pinanood ko ‘yung mga videos, ‘yung puwede kong ma-apply, ‘yung puwede ko maitulong sa team…”
Ross, of course, is close to the final boss when it comes to physical, in-your-face defense. But Stockton and Converge’s other guards didn’t do too badly either. It’s just that RJ Abarrientos is ready for all of it.
