Trained by Castro, Abarrientos sought ways to “overcome” News_ad

TNT’s Jayson Castro (right) had little trouble scoring against RJ Abarrientos in Game 1. –PBA IMAGES

The class was in Game 1 of the PBA Governors’ Cup finals, and Barangay Ginebra rookie RJ Abarrientos acknowledged some tough lessons taught to him by one of the prominent names in Philippine basketball.

“For me, marami pang kakainin na bigas (a Filipino expression that means ‘I still have so much to learn’),” Abarrientos said after the Gin Kings suffered a 104-88 loss in their series opener on Sunday in front of 11,021 fans TNT Tropang Giga had to accept the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.

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Jayson Castro coached Abarrientos in Game 1, using defensive shifts to continue scoring points against the former Korean Basketball League Rookie of the Year with outside shots or attacks at the basket that resulted in conversions or drawn fouls.

Castro scored 12 of his 14 points in the third quarter, most of them after beating the Abarrientos defense, helping the Tropang Giga pull away and end any chances of a Gin Kings comeback.

Shooting problems

Abarrientos has spoken of idolizing Castro in his teenage years, and he did not hide his excitement at being named a two-time member of the Fiba Asia Mythical Five and a five-time Best Player of the PBA conference.

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And after finally getting that chance, Abarrientos was impressed by how Castro can still lead, even at 38 years old.

That being said, the days of the Starstruck are over. For Abarrientos, it’s time to man up.

“It’s really impressive how he can keep up this pace even at his age,” Abarrientos said. “But that’s the Jayson Castro that RJ Abarrientos has to overcome.”

Abarrientos’ defensive challenges highlighted Ginebra’s collective struggles against a TNT team that got off to a hot start and maintained their lead until the end.

Ginebra also had his trouble shooting the ball from beyond the arc, as he missed his first 18 three-pointers before finishing 2-of-21 while also going 1-of-5 from four. The long bomb was one of the reasons the Gin Kings made it to this point in the conference.

“We weren’t locked in the whole game and they beat us up individually,” Cone said. “We’ll see what we can do about it.” INQ