‘Johnny A’ has advice to nephew RJ: Find your own identity
When Johnny Abarrientos got the call to be part of Barangay Ginebra’s coaching staff a few months ago, fans were excited to see him join forces with RJ and help his nephew become another all-time great.
Surprisingly, though, Johnny and RJ’s cohesion at the Gin Kings’ camp isn’t so seamless as everybody expected.
“It’s ironic. I think he felt even more pressured when I got there,” the PBA legend told the Inquirer recently. “He’s not used to seeing me beside him on the court, except when we’re at home or [in pickup games]. Every time I’m on his side, he’s so worried about making mistakes.”
The older Abarrientos believes that RJ will be a vital piece in the Ginebra rotation when Season 50 opens early next month. He is also hoping that his other assistant coaching gig, the one with Far Eastern in the UAAP, doesn’t influence how the Gin Kings open their PBA campaign.
Far Eastern is at 0-2 after an overtime loss to Ateneo before taking a mangling from National U. Johnny certainly doesn’t want that for the Kings.
And in order for that to happen, RJ would have to step up and improve from his already-stellar rookie year.
The front-runner for the Rookie of the Year award, RJ, Johnny believes, will have to break the mold he built and create his own image.
“I am giving him some leeway to do his own part,” Johnny said. “I told him, ‘you don’t need to wear the shoes of those before you.
“You need to create your own image, so you’ll have less pressure,’” he went on. “Make the game come to you and stop finding it just because his Tito is there. That’s not how we play basketball. I’m just here to remind him of things and make things close to perfect (for him).”
The problem for the former Korean Basketball League and Japanese B.League Filipino import isn’t necessarily his offense.
In fact, in last season’s final conference (Philippine Cup), where Ginebra made it to the semifinals, RJ logged 13.58 points, 4.63 assists and 3.42 rebounds per game.
RJ’s waterloo is his defensive capabilities, and Johnny aims to help RJ improve on that.
“It’s obvious. He lacks defense,” Johnny said. “For him to go from good to great, he needs to play on both ends. Little by little, I hope I can help.”
