Former Gilas Pilipinas guard RJ Abarrientos. Photo from FIBA.
MANILA — Barangay Ginebra head coach Tim Cone will coach one of the best young guards that the country has to offer.
The Gilas Pilipinas head coach’s mother team in the PBA will now feature young superstar RJ Abarrientos in the upcoming PBA Season 49 Governor’s Cup after they selected him as the third overall pick of the 2024 Rookie Draft.
This means that the former Far Eastern University main man will now be teaming up with Scottie Thompson, Justine Brownlee, Jamie Malonzo, Japeth Aguilar, and the rest of the Gin Kings who are looking to regain their spot at the top of the PBA.
Abarrientos’ entry to Barangay Ginebra has also opened the possibility of him playing in Gilas Pilipinas, especially as the former Tamaraw has already suited up for flag and country before.
However, Cone said that it is not as simple as that.
“That is a long way away right now. And again, he’s a young guy. He could be, three or four years from now and you know what the team’s gonna be,” stressed the former Alaska Milk mentor, who also coached RJ’s uncle, Johnny Abarrientos.
“I keep emphasizing, anytime you put somebody in on a team — you bring RJ in — you have to take somebody off,” he continued.
Cone has repeatedly expressed his desire to keep his 14-man pool intact, with chemistry and familiarity among his various concerns.
“We will try to stick to the 12 because we already have a history with the 12. We have prepared with those 12. Like we keep on saying, it’s cumulative [preparation],” he said.
“All in the past won’t mean much if we continue to change players. We want to keep the players as we can as we are accumulating experiences together.”
Still, there is a path for Abarrientos to join the national team pool should he learn Cone’s system while in Ginebra.
“That’s one of the reasons why Japeth was the guy who stepped in for us. Aside from his size and athleticism, he knew our system really well,” said the two-time Grand Slam champion coach of Aguilar, who was added to the pool in February.
“RJ might be a different example because he’ll be practicing with us. He’ll know about the Ginebra system which we’re using in Gilas, so he might be an exception,” he explained.
