MANILA – RJ Abarrientos made sure to redeem himself in Barangay Ginebra's showdown against Magnolia in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner's Cup, Friday evening at the Mall of Asia Arena.
With eight seconds left on the clock in the Manila Clasico, the game was tied after Abarrientos, last season's Rookie of the Year, was whistled for a shooting foul on a Mark Barroca three-pointer attempt.
The veteran Magnolia guard ended up sinking all three free throws, tying the game at 89-all, after being down by six points with 2:48 to go.
But Abarrientos came up clutch and lifted the Gin Kings to victory with his game-winning layup from a Scottie Thompson inbounds pass.
READ: Ginebra escapes Magnolia on RJ Abarrientos clutch layup
"Siguro yung last play hindi naman talaga para sa akin yun eh. Naghahanap lang talaga kami ng option from that eight seconds," he told reporters after the game.
"Ang dami naming options eh. Si Norbert [Torres], si Troy [Rosario], si JB [Justin Brownlee]. Ako lang talaga na-libre. Saka nag-usap talaga kami ni Scottie [Thompson] sa last play na yun," Abarrientos said.
For the Ginebra guard, he had to move on from the previous play and focus on helping his team get the win.
"Ganun talaga basketball eh, bilog ang bola. Any given time may mangyayaring ganun so wala kailangan talaga gumawi. Next play, pinito na ng referee hindi na pwede umangal," Abarrientos said.
Despite blowing their 15-point lead to the Hotshots, Abarrientos gave credit to the Ginebra coaching staff for helping them escape with the win.
"Siguro hats off din sa coaches namin na nakapag-adjust din. Lalo na nung first half nakapag-ipon, nakapag-invest kami. Kailangan namin i-work on yung third quarter namin. We can work on that," he shared.
Abarrientos and Ginebra will have a quick turnaround as they take on the Phoenix Fuelmasters on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.