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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Here's how an earful from Cone led to a clutch Abarrientos Game 1 show

Here's how an earful from Cone led to a clutch Abarrientos Game 1 show

Published Jun 4, 2026 11:27 am

At A Glance

  • There was no sense of any celebration from RJ Abarrientos after nailing not just one – but two clutch four-pointers late in Barangay Ginebra's 102-100 win over TNT in Game 1 of the PBA Season 50 Commissioner's Cup finals.

There was no sense of any celebration from RJ Abarrientos after nailing not just one – but two clutch four-pointers late in Barangay Ginebra’s 102-100 win over TNT in Game 1 of the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup finals.

Instead, the presumptive Best Player of the Conference palmed his face — not for nailing the big shots but in disappointment at himself after getting an earful from head coach Tim Cone for his defensive lapses against Rey Nambatac two possessions prior.

“Nagalit si coach Tim sa akin. Pissed off,” said Abarrientos when asked about his reaction after the two fours that put Ginebra back in the driver seat 100-97 with 20.6 seconds left.

“‘Yung depensa ko last two straight against Nambatac, kumbaga sa finals, hindi pwede mangyari ‘yun. I need to be better than that kasi lahat kami dito professional, lahat kami nagtatrabaho,” he added.

The Kings were actually up 88-79 early in the final frame but Nambatac came alive and spearheaded a 16-2 run to help the Tropang 5G take a 95-90 lead.

Nambatac, during that stretch, even had a personal 9-0 run, most of it he did against Abarrientos, prompting Cone to call out his star guard.

But the veteran mentor nonetheless showered Abarrientos praises for his response.

“I don’t think I got him motivated. I got him pissed off,” Cone said about Abarrientos.

“Bu that’s me being hard on the player and the player responding, and that was the way it is supposed to be. RJ has tremendous character, no matter what, he keeps his calm. He's really good at moving on and taking what you're saying and making something from it,” he added.

“He responded. He's just a clutch guy. Those two four-pointers were amazing shots.”

Related Tags

RJ Abarrientos Tim Cone Ginebra Gin Kings PBA Finals TNT Tropang 5G
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