MORE than 31 years ago, then Alaska coach Tim Cone tapped a playmaker that eventually became one of his legendary Aces and one of the pro league’s greatest ever–Johnny Abarrientos.
Now calling the shots for Ginebra, Cone landed another Abarrientos, this time, former Far Eastern University standout RJ, yesterday in a move seen to work wonders for the Kings in the future.
“It was a really tough pick. There were really a lot of good guys in the Draft. We were looking at maybe four players that we felt would help us. (Sedrick) Barefield went No. 2, (Justine) Baltazar went No. 1,” Cone said. “Eventually, we went back-and-forth. One coach liked this guy, another one liked this one and it went on for a couple of days.
“But the bottom line is we felt RJ would be an elite player. Maybe a transcendental player.
He has the potential to be that kind of a player. We could not just pass up on him,” he added.
Cone spoke after Ginebra tabbed the nephew of Johnny as the third pick overall in the annual PBA 49th season rookie Draft at the Ayala Malls Glorietta 4 activity center in Makati.
The younger Abarrientos, 24, was not around when his name was called due to his stint with Strong Group in the Jones Cup in Taipei.
“I’m grateful to the Lord for another blessing to the family,” Johnny, who spoke in lieu of RJ, said.
Ginebra climbed to No. 3 in the proceedings after it swapped Draft selections with Terrafirma last Saturday–and dealt prized big man Christian Standhardinger and Stanley Pringle for Stephen Holt and Isaac Go.
Cone said they initially wanted a center after losing Standhardinger, but he will not miss out on a chance to get another Abarrientos.
“We just couldn’t pass up on RJ. We’re hoping that third pick that worked out well with Johnny Abarrientos will also work out well with RJ,” Cone said.
“Kinda poetic. It was a nice story to tell.”
Forty-eight of the 67 applicants led by top choice Baltazar were taken in the Draft that reached the sixth round.
Cone is hoping Abarrientos will immediately make his presence felt especially with former MVP Scottie Thompson likely still sidelined due to a back injury.
“We don’t know. I haven’t had a chance to talk to Scottie yet since I’ve been back. I know he’s been continuing his rehab. I’ve always said back issues are one of the toughest to really latch on to in terms of how you rehab it, how you get it right,” he said. “The last resort for the back that was really injured was surgery. You want to do everything you can expect to have surgery. So, I don’t really know where Scottie is at this point. He was not good at all before we left for the expiration date.
“He had taken a turn for the worse since the semifinals in the last conference and just having trouble standing up and walking around. So, we don’t know where he is at this point.”
