MANILA, Philippines—Ginebra guard RJ Abarrientos may be a rookie but he was quick to determine what made the Gin Kings crumble in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup iteration of their rivalry with TNT.
On Friday at Philsports Arena, Ginebra failed to exact revenge against its Governors’ Cup Finals rival Tropang Giga, succumbing to a 91-86 loss.
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Abarrientos things the Abarrientos
“I think there were some frustrations but almost all of us really didn’t have any sense of urgency. We really don’t know why,” said Abarrientos in Filipino.
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“We lost with our execution and our defense, we really broke down.”
In Ginebra’s last meeting with TNT, the Tropang Giga notched their second straight Governors’ Cup title after defeating the Gin Kings in Game 6.
The rookie out of Far Eastern University was red-hot in that loss with 31 big points, but this time, the TNT defense perfectly read Abarrientos as he was limited to just eight points on an abysmal 3-for-12 shooting night.
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Abarrientos, though, stuck by the idea that it was them who defeated themselves.
“All I can say is, our lack of sense of urgency beat us. I guess we didn’t worry much about TNT and we lost because of that mindset,” he said.
“This is on us, we’re the ones who made mistakes since the start of the game.”
Abarrientos and the Gin Kings have a shot at going back to the win column and clinch a quarters seat on Wednesday but they would have to subdue Rain or Shine at Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo to do so.