Barangay Ginebra San Miguel is beginning its much-awaited Governors’ Cup campaign under very different circumstances from its Commissioner’s Cup title run last month.
Ginebra is coming off a seven-game Commissioner’s Cup Finals victory over the TNT Tropang 5G, but they will likely play this entire conference without resident import Justin Brownlee. The longtime Ginebra import is reportedly dealing with a hamstring strain and several other knee and leg injuries, which also affected him during Gilas Pilipinas’ recent window earlier this month. After struggling in the Philippines’ double-overtime loss to New Zealand, where he scored only five points, Brownlee sat out the next game against Australia altogether.
Ginebra is also without Scottie Thompson who is dealing with a hamstring injury too. Thompson missed the latest Gilas games and is reportedly out indefinitely. That leaves Ginebra without two of its most important players over the past decade.
Ginebra brought in Riley Grigsby to replace Brownlee as their import for the Governors’ Cup, and the new import immediately showed that he can score. Grigsby, who last played for the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the NBA G League, had 42 points in his debut against the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters. The problem was that even his huge scoring night was not enough, as Ginebra lost, 81–78, to Phoenix as they improved to 3–0 this conference.
With these developments, the time is now for RJ Abarrientos to become the undisputed focal point for Ginebra.
While Phoenix is no pushover, the bigger concern for Ginebra was how little help Grigsby received from the rest of the team as no local player scored in double figures. Jeremiah Gray had nine points off the bench, but shot only 3-of-14 from the field. Abarrientos struggled even more, finishing with eight points on 3-of-16 shooting and missing all seven of his three-point attempts. He did contribute five rebounds, four assists, and three steals, but Ginebra needed much more from him offensively.
That is the challenge now facing Abarrientos. Grigsby can clearly put up numbers, but he cannot carry Ginebra by himself, especially while still learning his teammates and building chemistry. Without Brownlee and Thompson, Abarrientos has to become the team’s top local option on a nightly basis.
He has already shown that he is capable of playing at an elite level. Abarrientos was named Best Player of the Conference during Ginebra’s Commissioner’s Cup title run after averaging 20.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 1.3 steals in 37.8 minutes per game during the conference. He shot 46.5 percent from the field, 41.8 percent from three, and 88.9 percent from the free-throw line while committing only 1.7 turnovers per game.
Those are already elite numbers, yet Ginebra may need even more if they are to remain in contention. Ginebra have enough championship experience to weather a difficult start, but they also cannot afford to slip too far down the standings to avoid an unfavorable postseason match-up.
The 26-year-old Abarrientos has to set the tone for Ginebra’s locals and give Grigsby a reliable second option. The opportunity to become the leader of this team is right in front of him. If Abarrientos wants to prove that he is the definite top guard in the PBA, this is exactly the kind of moment where he has to step up.
