Barangay Ginebra head coach Tim Cone was once again left impressed by the play of rookie Scottie Thompson, who helped Ginebra win its third straight outing by beating Globalport, 85-70 Wednesday.
Thompson was inserted in the second half and immediately gave Ginebra an additional edge on offense with his great vision and explosiveness.
“Scottie came in again and gave us help. Tremendous passing, he pushed us in transition, we picked up our tempo and that was a big difference-maker,” Cone said, adding it was Ginebra’s backcourt players which did the damage.
“Our backcourt guys took the challenge. LA (Tenorio) did a good job on Pringle. Mark (Caguioa) surprised everybody with his defense on Terrence and Joseph (Yeo).”
Thompson played less than 15 minutes and took only two shots but dished out 4 assists and was a plus-17.
Ginebra outscored Globalport 49-29 in the second half to rise above .500 with a 4-3 record.
Cone shared how he was actually urged by his coaching staff to field in Thompson in the second half, and had high regard for his rookie.
“I didn’t even play him in the first half. I wanted to give a shoutout to Jayjay (Helterbrand). He has been playing in practice,” Cone said.
“At halftime my entire coaching staff told me ‘You gotta play Scottie’ and we did and he made me look good and stupid at the same. Stupid for not playing him in the first half and good for going with him in the second.”
Cone added: “There’s no doubt he is a special player. But he is a rookie, he is young, he is going to have great nights and average nights and we are going to pick the nights were he plays great. He had a great night tonight. Consistency comes with time. It doesn’t come right away especially for young guys.”
During the 2015 PBA draft, Cone looked at Thompson as an option as he knew the prospect had unique skills.
Thompson felt grateful to be chosen by his favorite mentor and seven games into the season, the former NCAA MVP is making the most out of every opportunity.
“Medyo smooth na kami sa triangle offense. So far so good. Sa akin hindi mahirap mag-adjust sa kanila dahil sila (veterans) talaga ang nag-ga-guide sa rookies,” he said.
“Happy ako dahil binibigyan niya ako ng tiwala. Yung konting minuto, ginagrab ko, hindi ko sinasayang.”
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