Ginebra exec has high hopes with Abarrientos now on board

RJ Abarrientos was picked third in the Draft. —INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Barangay Ginebra signed RJ Abarrientos to a three-year deal on Monday, giving the crowd darlings’ aging roster a dose of much-needed young, reliable blood.

Team governor and San Miguel Corp. sports director Alfrancis Chua himself presented the contract to the No. 3 overall pick of the recent Rookie Draft before heaping praises on the young guard.

“The negotiation went smoothly. He was laughing around, and he said he’s excited to play for Ginebra,” Chua told reporters in a quick chat on the sidelines of the launch of the Next Generation Basketball League where he is the chair.

“I didn’t struggle because we were speaking in Tagalog,” he added with a chuckle. “But really, it was easy talking to the kid.”

Chua said that he likes how Abarrientos carried himself throughout the meeting held at his office in Pasig City and even spoke highly of the latter’s confidence which he hopes would translate to on-court contribution for the Gin Kings.

“I just told him that whatever he’s telling me now, he has to do it in the games, too,” he said before reaching for a compliment that should further boost the Far Eastern U product’s faith in himself.

“I haven’t seen anything like him, but he’s like LA Tenorio with the way he envisions the team,” Chua said of Abarrientos, a nephew of PBA legend and now Magnolia’s assistant coach Johnny.

“He’s a notch higher than most—perhaps because of the leagues he’s played in.”

International stints

Before declaring for the PBA Rookie Draft, the young Abarrientos plied his trade in South Korea, eventually winning the Korean Basketball League’s Rookie of the Year award. He also had a quick stint in Japan and is coming off a campaign with the Strong Group Athletics, which recently ruled the Jones Cup.

Abarrientos is set to don the Ginebra jersey officially on July 31, when the crowd darlings take on P. League+ champion New Taipei Kings in an exhibition at Tap Seac MultiSport Pavilion.

There, Abarrientos will be joined by new Ginebra pickups Stephen Holt and Isaac Go, who are also being assimilated into the Gin Kings system ahead of the season-opening Governors’ Cup. INQ