RJ Abarrientos saw a nightmarish end to a dream maiden season in Korean Basketball League as the Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus fell to the Goyang Carrot Jumpers, 77-71, in the deciding Game Five of the quarterfinals on Monday.
RJ Abarrientos stats KBL April 10
The newly crowned KBL Rookie of the Year was held to just five points on 2-of-6 shooting, missing all his three three-point attempts, alongside just one assist and one rebound in almost 27 minutes of play as a starter, denying a semifinal matchup against Rhenz Abando and Anyang KGC.
Ulsan did erase a 13-point deficit late in the third quarter, but failed to sustain its push in the payoff period as the fourth-seeded team wasted its second straight chance to close out the fifth-seeded Carrot Jumpers, this time on their home floor at the Ulsan Dongchun Gymnasium.
By climbing out of a 2-1 hole in the best-of-five series, Goyang set up a semifinal showdown against No. 1 Anyang starting on Thursday night.
Justin Gutang and the second-seeded Changwon LG Sakers face the Seoul SK Knights in the other Final Four pairing with Game One on Friday.
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