THOUGHTS | RJ ABARRIENTOS OVER JUAN GDL

The verdict is out, and honestly, who are we to judge?

Tim Cone has finalized his roster for Gilas Pilipinas’ match against Guam, and it doesn’t include Juan Gomez de Liano, Jamie Malonzo, or Troy Rosario.

For Malonzo, this is yet another setback in what has been a rough 2025 for him, basketball-wise. Choosing the Kyoto Hannaryz over a Barangay Ginebra extension may have contributed to his limited run at the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup. And after getting waived by Kyoto, he suddenly had no fallback—especially since his move to the B. League helped trigger the PBA’s three-year ban on international players.

Meanwhile, Rosario was always a likely cut, even though he has been one of the program’s most reliable guys from the Chot Reyes era. Yes, he’s an undersized power forward, but he compensates with grit. And while removing him makes sense from a roster-building standpoint, I still believe his move from Blackwater to Ginebra was partly driven by the hope of rejoining Gilas.

But the most surprising exclusion is Juan Gomez de Liano. As I wrote in my previous blog, if Gilas Pilipinas wants Converge and Strong Group on board, they need Juan GDL in the fold. SGA has ties to several non-Gilas international players and currently has Justine Baltazar and Dave Ildefonso, among others. RJ Abarrientos—the player many fans wanted dropped instead of Juan—was also part of SGA before joining the PBA.

Still, Tim Cone gets the final say. One reason Ginebra traded for Abarrientos, in my view, was to reinforce point guard depth behind Scottie Thompson and Chris Newsome. Cone also has his own circle of trusted players—just as Yeng Guiao had Beau Belga, and Chot Reyes had RR Pogoy. For Cone, someone like RJ fits that mold, much like LA Tenorio, Joe Devance, and even RJ’s uncle, the great Johnny Abarrientos.

And again, it’s worth emphasizing that RJ Abarrientos and Juan GDL—aside from Juan’s longer PBA stint—have had almost identical international careers. Both have represented Gilas Pilipinas, and both performed well leading up to this decision. In his last two games with Ginebra, RJ put up 24.5 points per game. Yes, Juan GDL is the more complete player, averaging 17.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, 8.3 assists, and 1.0 steals, but he’s also new to Tim Cone’s system.

This brings us back to a point we sometimes overlook: just as Chot Reyes leaned heavily on his TNT core, Tim Cone appears set to use his Ginebra core to simulate Gilas action. And we also tend to forget how much Ginebra invested to get Abarrientos. When you combine last season’s Ginebra–Terrafirma trades, the package essentially became RJ, Stephen Holt, Isaac Go, and the rights to draft Mario Barasi in exchange for Christian Standhardinger, Stanley Pringle, Mark Nonoy, Didat Hanapi, and Paolo Hernandez.

Cone may prefer tight rotations, but this current Ginebra lineup isn’t as deep or dominant as previous versions. RJ arrived as a blue-chip prospect—an FEU standout with solid stints in Korea and Japan, much like Juan GDL. The difference is that RJ posted stronger numbers overseas. Meanwhile, Juan GDL’s strong PBA run is partly because he’s making up for an international career where, despite making the right moves, he was never fully appreciated by the teams he played for.

So as much as fans want to influence the lineup, we ultimately have to respect Cone’s call and let this roster cook. At the end of the day, if his decisions lead to success, then it’s the country that benefits.