RJ ABARRIENTOS had one of his worst nights of the conference in Game 4 of the PBA 50th Season Governors’ Cup quarterfinals last Friday.
After averaging 19.7 points during the first three games of the quarterfinals, Abarrientos only had seven points on 2-of-13 shooting from the field, missing all six of his three-point shots in the Gin Kings’ 108-102 loss to San Miguel.
Abarrientos will look to bounce back in Game 5 on Tuesday in a winner-take-all for a semifinal berth.
“May mga ganung araw talaga. Just need to move on,” said Abarrientos.
San Miguel outscored Barangay Ginebra, 46-18, in the third quarter where the Beermen also had a 22-0 run to pull away for good.
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In that quarter, Abarrientos only had a single point.
The Season 49 Rookie of the Year said the third quarter has been critical in the series, and Game 5 will not be an exception.
“Kita naman na natalo kami nung third quarter so ‘yun yung usual na nangyayari sa amin kapag second half eh. Sabi ko, may chance pa rin naman. Just need to move on and regroup,” said Abarrientos.
The third quarter also had Abarrientos getting into a physical exchange with Chris Ross and Marcio Lassiter where Abarrientos fouled Ross on a collision during a screen action, and falling into the ground on a flagrant foul on Lassiter.
Abarrientos played down the incident as it is expected against a championship team like San Miguel.
“Part of the game. Kasama ‘yun sa laro,” said Abarrientos. “Basketball ito, walang bigayan. Gusto lahat manalo. Part of the game. Okay lang ‘yun.”
“Alam naman natin na physical team din ang SMB. In terms of ‘yung veteran presence nila, kapag lahat willing sila, talagang may chance na magagawa nila ‘yung gusto nila. Ganun talaga, may mga ganung araw. We just need to move on. Eto ‘yung binigay sa amin, do-or-die, tatanggapin namin."
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