Rhenz Abando has always been a terrific basketball player for the University of Santo Tomas, Letran and then the Anyang KGC in the Korean Basketball League.
But you knew that already.
And so his stint with Gilas Pilipinas in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 was just an affirmation of his vast talents. He, together with Kai Sotto, AJ Edu and Dwight Ramos are the future of Philippine basketball.
This early, the Gilas Pilipinas guard has already been drawing praises from South Sudan’s Carlik Jones and China’s Kyle Anderson on how he played and defended against them.
But for Abando, it was the crowd support that energized him when Gilas posted a 96-75 win over China in the World Cup on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City.
“We’re very happy with the win, but I can only wish we played this way in our previous games. It’s unfortunate. Us teammates just believed in each other. Coach [Chot Reyes] always tells us to lean on each other,” said Abando.
The 25-year-old Abando had his best game in the tournament as he finished with 14 points and five rebounds, but his moment to shine came during the third quarter.
Abando helped turn things around with birthday celebrant Dwight Ramos with the count tied at 48-all.
After Ramos blocked a shot by Jinqui Ju in the final 5:26, Abando grabbed the rebound in the next play.
From there, Jordan Clarkson unloaded 24 points of his total of 34 points in the third period as Gilas went on to post the 21-point win over the Chinese.
“Marami akong lapses. Nakita niyo naman iyung decision-making ko. Buti na lang, bumawi ako sa mga turnovers du’n sa mga baskets na nai-score,” said Abando.
Reyes, before stepping down, said that Abando will be among the young players he expects to shine for Gilas in the future.
“The future with these guys, the core that we have right now, that’s a very young core,” said Reyes.
Anderson was impressed by the performances not only of Clarkson, but of Abando as well.
Anderson, a forward for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA, experienced how good Abando was on the defensive end.
A block from Abando on Anderson touched off a wild roar from the crowd.
“I’m not sure what’s his name or number, he got the block on me in my euro step, he turned the game around, him [Abando] and Jordan Clarkson turned the game around,” Anderson said.
Jones, seeing action for the Chicago Bulls in the coming NBA season, also had much respect for Abando for his great plays on the defensive end during the Philippines’ clash with South Sudan.
“It’s ball pressure the whole game. Big shoutout to him (Abando), man. I think he played well, he defended well. I tried to put him in as many ball screens as he could to relieve some of that pressure and so to get other guys open. I think he played well,” added Jones.
Abando was scoreless in his 19-minute time for the Philippines while going against the Bright Stars.
But Abando’s three assists and three shot blocks still drew cheers from fans.
Against Italy, the 6’2” Abando rejected an attempt by 6’7” Giampaolo Ricci in the second quarter of their game. And although Gilas lost that one, 90-83, Abando’s play still stood out and was one of the team’s bright spots.