Scottie Thompson doesn’t want to make excuses following the 90-102 beating that the Barangay Ginebra had received from the San Miguel Beermen in their 2018 Philippine Cup semis opener, Friday night at SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Ginebra have had a tougher schedule compared to the Beermen, as they have played four games — including this semis’ Game One — in a span of seven days, which started last Friday in a triple overtime bout with the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
“Galing kami sa tatlong game na sunod-sunod — I think five days, three straight games,” said Thompson, referring to the two games they played Rain or Shine this past Monday and Wednesday for the quarterfinals, and the third versus San Miguel.
“Although nafee-feel namin yung fatigue, it’s not an excuse pa rin.”
Though Thompson doesn’t want to make fatigue a reason, Beermen head coach Leo Austria actually believes that it is. “It might be na pagod lang talaga sila dahil this is their fourth game in seven days,” the seasoned mentor pointed out.
The three-year pro, meanwhile, tipped his hat to the reigning three-time All-Filipino champs, lauding their aggressiveness from the game’s start to finish, where SMB took the driver’s seat in the second frame and never looked back.
“Wala akong masabi. Talagang aggressive sila simula hanggang huli,” conceded Thompson, who was one of the three Gin Kings who finished with 17 markers, along with six assists.
“Talagang ang dami nilang weapons.”
Ginebra may have been down 0-1, but the series still has a long way to go, as it is a best-of-seven affair. And for Thompson, he thinks that their mental toughness should be much better come Game Two, since it was seemingly lost on Friday.
“Nandun naman yung effort namin, yung mental [toughness] lang namin siguro yung nawala dun,” said the 24-year-old, two-time Governor’s Cup champion.
“Tignan namin kung ano adjustment namin sa practice bukas.”
