EXPECT San Miguel to pile more pressure on Barangay Ginebra guard RJ Abarrientos as part of its defensive game plan for Game 5 of the PBA 50th Season Governors’ Cup where a semifinal spot is on the line.
Abarrientos was limited to seven points on 2-of-13 shooting in Game 4 after averaging 19.7 points in the first three games, and his production in Game 5 could be the key to which team wins the series.
Chris Ross, one of the players that defended Abarrientos in Game 4, noted the importance of containing the Season 49 Rookie of the Year on the Beermen’s chances of moving forward.
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“RJ is the head of the snake,” Ross said. “When he gets going offensively, he makes so much (things) happen because he is really aggressive off the pick and roll and he can catch and shoot.
“He can shoot in the midrange, he can shoot from the three, he can shoot from the four. He is a guy that we really want to limit,” said Ross.
Abarrientos has vowed to bounce back from his woes in Game 4 as Barangay Ginebra look to finally put San Miguel away after two failed attempts from a 2-0 lead.
“If we feel like we can limit him, we have a really good chance of winning,” Ross added.
But Ross made it clear that it will need a collective effort to put the clamps on not just Abarrientos but the other players as proven by Ginebra racing to an early 17-point lead in Game 4 before San Miguel erased it with a 46-18 third quarter.
“I started off on RJ and I got RJ but Scottie (Thompson) got off early so I kind of switched on him,” said Ross.
“We haven’t done nothing yet. So we just evened the series and they won two straight too. It’s a decision so it’s usually how it goes. When we play Ginebra, we go to either six or seven so we’re excited to play with this performance (in Game 4),” Ross said.
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