RJ Abarrientos is looking to make a splash in Korea.
The Far Eastern University gunner is leaving Morayta after just one season in the seniors division as he links up with Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus.
This makes Abarrientos the second Filipino player to sign with a Korean Basketball League (KBL) club, following in the footsteps of Gilas Pilipinas teammate SJ Belangel who earlier agreed to a deal with Daegu KOGAS Pegasus.
[See RJ Abarrientos leaving FEU to play in Korea league]
But the question now is, what awaits Abarrientos in Korea?
Ulsan is a seven-time KBL champion, last winning the cup in the 2018-19 season behind Ra Gun-A (Ricardo Ratliffe). Ra has since moved on to play for the Jeonju KCC Egis.
The team has also served as the home for another naturalized player in Moon Tae Jong (Jarod Stevenson) and former No. 1 pick and national team mainstay Yang Dong Geun.
That's history, though, and if there's something the 22-year-old Abarrientos can expect once he joins the team: his sweet-shooting hands will come in handy.
Ulsan finished at fourth place in the eliminations last season with its 30-24 win-loss card behind import Rashawn Thomas and locals Jang Jae Seok, Ham Ji Hoon and Lee Hyun Min.
The Mobis Phoebus, however, lost to the Goyang Orion Orions in the quarterfinals as they got swept in the best-of-five series.
One positive from last season was that forward Lee Woo Suk was named as the season's Rookie of the Year with his averages of 12.0 points and 3.2 assists.
Jang, the 6-foot-8 center, is also a part of the Korea team which made the trip to the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers last year, averaging 11.5 points and 4.5 boards in Clark. He, however, was not fielded in the pair of games against Gilas Pilipinas.
This time, he suited up in this series of friendlies where he scored a point and grabbed two rebounds in three minutes of play in Korea's 96-92 win last Friday in Anyang.
Curiously, the Ulsan coach is Yoo Jae Hak, who called the shots for Korea in the 2013 Fiba Asia Championship in Manila.
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