MANILA, Philippines – Far Eastern University’s Rhon Jay “RJ” Abarrientos is leading the UAAP in scoring with 19.2 points per game.
Although a rookie (but technically, he isn’t a college freshman), RJ, the nephew of former FEU and PBA great Johnny Abarrientos, has carried the scoring cudgels for the Tamaraws.
RJ was a part of FEU’s juniors team that won the Season 80 title against NU. There, he was teammates with LJ Gonzales, John Bryan Sajonia, Royce Alforque, Daniel Celso, Xyrus Torres and Kyle Bautista, who have all moved up to the seniors Tamaraws team.
In his debut game, he scored 19 against UST, 16 versus Ateneo, 9 against La Salle and 33 against NU.
Breaking down his scoring, Abarrientos averages three triples in a match, almost five free throws, with the rest coming from lay-ups or medium range jumpers. He leads the league in free throws made with 19 in four matches.
Unfortunately for FEU, they have struggled and lost three consecutive matches to drop to 1-3. The Tamaraws return to action Tuesday, April 5, against winless University of the East.
After Abarrientos, UP’s Ricci Rivero is second in scoring with 15.7 points an outing. A pair of UST players are in third and fourth, respectively — Sherwin Concepcion and Joshua Fontanilla average 14.5 and 14.0 points.
Ateneo’s Dave Ildefonso is at fifth spot with 13.5 points per game.