ANTIPOLO – His return to the Gilas Pilipinas program obviously gave RJ Abarrientos a new high as he anchored Barangay Ginebra’s offense in a 103-85 beating of Blackwater on Wednesday night in the PBA Philippine Cup.
Last season’s Rookie of the Year paced the Kings with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting and helped the team put together its first winning streak for the season.
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The game against the Bossing was the first for Abarrientos coming off his back-to-back appearances with the national team in the opening window of the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers against Guam.
And he admitted the brief time spent with Gilas helped him to further improve as a player.
“Obviously yung confidence ko mas iba. Of course I’m very grateful na nakabalik din ako ng Gilas with coach Tim,” he said.
The 26-year-old Abarrientos previously suited up for Gilas under then coach Chot Reyes when it competed in the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup.
He welcomed becoming part of the men’s team again three years after.
“Happy ako na nagagawa ko ulit yung part ko as a Gilas member,” added the nephew of PBA great and Ginebra deputy coach Johnny Abarrientos.
As part of the compact Gilas Pilipinas pool under Cone, the Ginebra guard could only keep his fingers crossed he’ll be able to represent the country again in major international tournaments.
“Hopefully, magtuluy-tuloy and I’m ready to serve the country every time they call me. So I’m just grateful for the opportunity and very thankful,” added Abarrientos.
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