RJ Abarrientos knew that the moment he took the court, he'll have to make an impact for Gilas Pilipinas.
And when he checked in at the midway point of the second quarter, it was certainly what he did, finding Kai Sotto for a gorgeous layup that gave the Filipino prodigy his first bucket as a member of the seniors team.
"Siguro kasi nakikita kong advantage si Kai, yung IQ niya, kung paano niya gamitin ang sarili niya sa loob ng court. Paghawak niya ng bola, paano siya magke-create, ganoon siya mag-isip, kung paano siya makakatulong," he said.
"Kaya siya ang ginagamit ko sa ball screen lalo na itong game sa Korea, siya lagi ang hinahanap ko kasi nakikita ko yung high IQ niya sa paglalaro. Sobrang laki ng inimprove niya as an individual. Grabe talaga yung Kai."
But as much praises he has heaped towards Sotto, Abarrientos himself deserves a lot of credit as he performed excellently in his debut and had a big part in Gilas' stunning 81-78 victory over Korea in the third window of the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers on Wednesday.
"Sobrang speechless ako ngayon," said the Far Eastern University guard. "Alam lang namin na yung result ng ginagawa namin sa practice, magagawa namin sa game. Di namin inexpect na manalo sa gitna ng laro."
Abarrientos was one of the headturners for the Philippines in this big win as the nephew of PBA great Johnny Abarrientos played steady at the point and provided energy for the home team en route to his six points, three assists, and one rebound in 14 solid minutes of action.
But that really shouldn't come as a surprise, with the 6-foot-2 shooter long considered as one of the top players in the high school division.
"Mindset ko lang is magkaroon ako ng quality time. Gagawin ko yung part ko para makatulong sa team," he said, with Gilas playing with a depleted backcourt and the likes of Abarrientos, SJ Belangel, Dwight Ramos, and Jaydee Tungcab thrust into the roles of keeping the ship afloat.
"Lagi ko lang iniisip na dapat prepared. Hindi pwede na lalaban o sasabak kami sa giyera na wala kaming dalang armas. Alam ko na ang mangyayari, off the bench o starting ako, iniisip ko yung dapat kong gawin or yung makakatulong sa team namin para makuha namin ang panalo."
Yet the 21-year-old admitted that there were moments in the game where they felt out of whack, all the more when Korea took hold of a 17-point edge, 33-16, in the second quarter.
But what did this young team do? Well, they stuck with the system.
"Di namin alam kanina, we're down. Pero ginawa lang namin ang part namin, yung system ni coach Tab [Baldwin], importante sa amin, at mga coaches na laging naghe-heads up sa bench dahil sa bench pa lang nabubuo na kami," he said.
"Yun lang naman yung ino-observe ko nung nasa bench ako. Sinasabi ko na tignan natin yung tama at maling nangyayari sa court, sino yung sinub, sino yung nagkamali sa defense at offense. Pagdating natin, angatan natin o ma-maintain yung tamang ginagawa kasi kung hindi natin magawa yun, lalamang at lalamang ang Korea."
That helped Gilas stage that amazing third quarter fightback that set up the furious fourth period finish.
For Abarrientos, the key for the Philippines in scoring this win was really simple: staying true to what they were working on for months at Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, understanding the nuances and executing those schemes Baldwin has been teaching to a tee.
Having that under their belt is the biggest ace on their side and eventually allowed them to help the Philippines score its first win over its rivals in eight years.
And it's certainly what Abarrientos and co. will take for its next games against Indonesia on Friday and Korea again on Sunday -- to stay together.
"Malaking factor sa amin yung connected kami sa isa't isa sa mga ginagawa namin, both defense and offense," he said. "Syempre bata kami, mas experienced ang kalaban, kaya mas importante na maging buo kami at naguusap sa loob ng court."
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