MANILA, Philippines – With a superstar-caliber player like RJ Abarrientos coming off the bench, it’ll be hard to stop Barangay Ginebra for the years to come.
Starring in his sixth-man role, Abarrientos powered the Gin Kings to a dominant 121-92 Game 5 blowout of the San Miguel Beermen to take a pivotal 3-2 lead in their best-of-seven PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Friday, October 18.
Abarrientos — the third pick in the 2024 PBA Draft — erupted for a career-high 28 points on an efficient 9-of-14 shooting as Ginebra scored a massive bounce-back win after absorbing a 131-121 loss in Game 4.
The 5-foot-11 spitfire guard also recorded 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and a whopping +/- of +37 for the Gin Kings, who moved within a win of a return trip to the Governors’ Cup finals.
“He’s a starter off the bench,” said Ginebra head coach Tim Cone of his prized rookie Abarrientos.
“Just really proud of him for taking that role and going with it because he’s been a star in all the other leagues he’s been in, and to come here and come off the bench for us in his first conference is really a test to his character.”
“This is going to be just for a short time, short term as we have this kind of lineup, but eventually he’s going to be a starter and the star of this team without a doubt,” added Cone of Abarrientos, who previously saw action in the Korean Basketball League (KBL) and the Japan B. League prior to entering the PBA Draft.
Abarrientos was instrumental in the Gin Kings’ breakaway in the early goings of the final frame, where they stretched a 92-79 lead at the start of the quarter to a 105-79 cushion at the 8:24 mark.
During that furious three-minute rally, Abarrientos poured in 8 of his 28 points, including the booming four-pointer that capped Ginebra’s 13-0 blast.
Former league MVP Scottie Thompson backed up Abarrientos with 22 points, 18 coming in just the opening period.
With Ginebra trailing by as many as 13 points in the first quarter, 20-33, it was Thompson who spearheaded a fiery 14-0 turnaround to give the Gin Kings a slim 34-33 edge over San Miguel at the end of the first 12 minutes.
“Well, I tell you they came out with guns blazing in the beginning of the game. It’s almost Game 4 all over again, they just came out firing,” said Cone of San Miguel’s hot start.
“It was a lot of worry in the timeouts, but we kind of got settled.”
“Scottie did a great job in keeping us in the game early so we were able to kind of settle ourselves down. I think we were just too pumped up in the beginning,” he added.
Fresh off a 49-point explosion in Game 4, Justin Brownlee delivered an all-around line of 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists for the Gin Kings, while Japeth Aguilar and Maverick Ahanmisi chalked up 15 and 13 markers, respectively.
EJ Anosike dropped a team-high 21 points, while eight-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo posted a double-double of 17 points and 18 rebounds for San Miguel.
After staring at a 50-63 deficit at halftime, the Beermen managed to pull back within just a single point, 67-68, off a jumper by Marcio Lassiter at the 7:26 mark of the third quarter.
However, San Miguel failed to keep in step with Ginebra late in the third period as the latter restored its 13-point lead heading into the final frame.
Ginebra — which lost to the TNT Tropang Giga in the previous Governors’ Cup finals during the 2022-2023 season — will look to close out the series in six games on Sunday, October 20, while San Miguel aims to keep the trend of alternating wins going and drag the Gin Kings to a do-or-die Game 7.
The Scores
Ginebra 121 – Abarrientos 28, Thompson 22, Brownlee 18, J. Aguilar 15, Ahanmisi 13, Holt 9, Cu 4, Pinto 3, Adamos 2, Devance 2, Pessumal 2, R. Aguilar 2, Mariano 1.
San Miguel 92 – Anosike 21, Fajardo 17, Perez 16, Lassiter 16, Trollano 7, Ross 4, Enciso 4, Cruz 3, Brondial 2, Romeo 2, Nava 0, Tautuaa 0, Rosales 0.
Quarters: 34-33, 63-50, 92-79, 121-92.
– Rappler.com