PBA Finals: RJ Abarrientos focused on title chase despite BPC win
Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings’ RJ Abarrientos during Game 4 of the 2026 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals vs TNT Tropang 5G. –PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—Barangay Ginebra guard RJ Abarrientos was in no mood to celebrate after winning his first PBA Best Player of the Conference award on Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The honor came on the same night the Gin Kings absorbed a 106-98 loss to TNT in Game 4 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals, allowing the Tropang 5G to level the series at 2-2.
“I don’t know what to feel,” he said while holding on to his new hardware.
“I’m eyeing the Finals right now. We just need to focus as a team. Individual awards are normal, it’ll come and it’ll always be there.”
Ginebra guard RJ Abarrientos is the Best Player of the Conference in the 2026 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.–PBA IMAGES
Abarrientos finished with 21 points and four assists but his Gin Kings fell to TNT after an abysmal second half showing.
Rather than dwell on the individual accolade, Abarrientos remained focused on helping the Gin Kings win their first championship since 2023.
“We need to bounce back. We need to get it back on Game 5. We’ll go back to the drawing board and we’ll see what we need to adjust on.”
Abarrientos beat out NLEX’s Robert Bolick, Phoenix’s Ricci Rivero, San Miguel Beer’s June Mar Fajardo and Terrafirma’s Jerrick Ahanmisi for the conference’s top individual honor.
He now turns his attention to helping Ginebra regain the series lead in Game 5 on Friday at the same venue.
