RJ Abarrientos would be the last person to take consolation in his breakout game in the finals for Barangay Ginebra on Friday.
To him, losing the PBA 49th Season Governors' Cup crown will weigh more than anything he has done in his first conference in the league.
"Tatanggapin ko siya na talo pa rin. This game is more on learnings, not losing. So dadalhin ko ito, lalagay ko ito sa pocket ko. Paghihirapan ko pa kung ano naman yung kakulangan na yun," he said.
Abarrientos did his best to keep the Gin Kings alive, unloading 31 points, including three treys, but his sizzling night from beyond the arc was not meant to be, as Ginebra absorbed a 95-85 Game Six defeat to TNT at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
READ: TNT outduels Ginebra in Game 6 dogfight to complete title repeat
As they say, you never forget your first - may it be first championship or, in the impact rookie's case, first heartbreak.
All in all, though, it was truly a golden opportunity to learn for him, especially as he went mano-a-mano against one Jayson Castro.
"Marami akong natutunan. Like kay kuya Jayson, sinasabi niya sa akin respetuhin mo ako, ipakita mo yung best mo," the Far Eastern University product said, sharing words exchanged between him and the oldest player to win Finals MVP.
READ: Jayson Castro explains why third Finals MVP is 'sobrang special'
"Wag kayong maniwala kay kuya Jayson, kasi (mas) magaling si kuya Jayson sa akin. So for me, marami pang kailangan matutunan at kailangan gawin."
Much room for improvement for Ginebra's prized rookie
And despite the rookie's fine play, Gin Kings coach Tim Cone said that Abarrientos is still learning the ropes of the triangle.
"RJ's still figuring it out. He figured it out tonight. It was a struggle for him in the first five games, really getting him going, really understanding what he could get done," the decorated mentor said.
"He still doesn't really understand our offense that well and it's really counterintuitive to him, so we kind of opened up the game a little bit for him to get some opportunities because he wasn't getting it in the triangle."
For his part, the nephew of PBA great Johnny Abarrientos was frank enough to admit that, indeed, he's still feeling his way in this new system, but is grateful for the trust given to him by the team.
"Nakikita ko yung tiwala ng mga coaches sa akin, yung mga teammates ko at yun yung nagbibay sa akin ng confidence kaya inspirado kong ituloy-tuloy yun. Ang daming ups and downs ngayong conference, pero I'm hoping na marami akong matutunan dito," he said.
Moving forward, taking this title loss to heart will only motivate Abarrientos to bounce back stronger, all the more as he feels he let his ka-Barangays down.
"Syempre nakakalungkot, lalo na sa mga Ginebra fans," he said. "Pero ite-take namin ito seriously and mapag-aralan sana namin yung mga mali namin for the next conference."
"Nakakadagdag ng gutom. So konting pahinga lang, konting rest lang, and then back to work ulit."
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