RJ Abarrientos had to deal with fellow young gun Juan Gomez De Liano in the PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals.
Now he’s up against a battle tested veteran and multi-time PBA champion Chris Ross in the semifinals, and the San Miguel Beer guard vows to raise the ante when it comes to putting the pressure on Ginebra's rising star for the remainder of the best-of-seven semis.
The match-up reached a high point in Game 3 when Ross did a Dikembe Mutombo-esque finger-wag after blocking the shot of the prolific sophomore guard.
READ: Don Trollano takes charge as SMB wrests semis lead from Ginebra
For the 40-year-old Ross, it’s nothing personal, just a little bit of a psywar that is common , especially in a series with stakes as high as this one.
“It’s just basketball. We’re having conversations at the game. I was telling him I like competing against him, I like talking trash against him a little bit because he’s going to compete and he’s gonna move on to the next play and try to do his things,” said the San Miguel playing-assistant coach following San Miguel’s 91-85 win in Game 3 of the semis Friday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“It was just a thing of trying myself going, get the crowd involved. But it was nothing.”
The prolific second year guard is coming off a marquee matchup with Gomez De Liano in the first round of the playoffs, where the Kings needed to beat Converge FiberXers twice to advance.
It's Ross' turn to have a shot against Abarrientos this time.
Abarrientos had his usual number of 18 points in the Kings’ second straight loss in the semis, but had his worst shooting night against the Beermen at 26 percent on 4-of-15 shooting.
Ross, a veteran many times over Abarrientos, was 1-of-10 from the field for two points, but had eight rebounds, seven assists, and a block against last season’s Rookie of the Year.
But the 11-time champion and two-time Finals MVP will always have respect with how Abarrientos plays the game.
“I like RJ because he’s a showman, right? I was telling him I like competing against him. He doesn't take anything to heart. If I talk thrash to him, he'll come back to me," said Ross of Abarrientos' competitive nature.
And as the semis heats up with Game 4 set Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena, there's still won't be any love lost between him and Abarrientos.
"Yeah, he's not gonna stop, and I'm not gonna stop," said the veteran Fil-Am.
"He's gonna keep on coming because that's the type of player he is. He's an amazing player. He is really their (Kings) spark. They use him as their spark off the bench. Coach Tim has kind of given him more free reins that's why you see his points going up because he's getting more confidence," added Ross.
But he's ready whatever Abarrientos brings on the table.
"As long as I'm in there guarding him, it's gonna be a battle. I'm not gonna back down, he's not gonna back down. And yeah, that's gonna be fun," Ross said.
The defending champion Beermen lead the series against the Kings, 2-1.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
