CHOOSING RJ Abarrientos as the No. 3 pick overall in the last PBA Draft made a lot of sense for Ginebra coach Tim Cone.
Aside from the former Far Eastern University’s skills, work ethic, and being the nephew of the great Johnny Abarrientos that caught Cone’s fancy, the winningest tactician in Asia’s pioneering pro league is convinced having the younger Abarrientos will also ease up playmaking duties from former MVP Scottie Thompson.
“We feel Scottie can play with him (Abarrientos). I felt Scottie really played his best basketball when he had LA (Tenorio) at his side,” Cone said. “LA can do some of the ball handling, and free him up to get the rebounds and play as an off guard.
“Do all of those Scottie things that nobody else does,” he added.
Abarrientos, 24, signed a three-year contract on the dotted line two days ago in a move that all the more shored up the Kings’ backcourt that also has the likes of Maverick Ahanmisi, John Pinto, Don Gumaru, and Rookie of the Year pacesetter Stephen Holt, who was acquired from the Terrafirma Dyip for Stanley Pringle.
Cone does not see any problem having lots of guards in his team.
“I don’t see an issue with that. Mav can play with RJ. Stephen Holt can play with RJ. They can play with each other. It’s a nice rotation of the guys,” Cone said. “We can play three guards. Mav, Scottie, and RJ, all playing together.
“It could be pretty exciting. We don’t see that as a playing time issue with those guys.”
With Thompson still out due to a back injury, Abarrientos must work doubly hard to grasp Cone’s system that if he does will only serve Ginebra in good stead in the season-opening Governors’ Cup set to start on Aug. 18 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“Now with RJ, he can take away some of the burdens from Scottie,” he said. “It allows Scottie to do some of those things again.”
Add to that the return of prized import Justin Brownlee and the Kings are hard-pressed to prove their worth anew in the tilt they’re so used to winning.
