Scottie Thompson had a huge chip on his shoulder for Window Five of the FIBA World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers.
Just hours before lift-off, Gilas Pilipinas received some bad news that lead floor general and team captain Kiefer Ravena will not be making the flight to the Middle East due to an emergency dental procedure.
The wave of bad news did not stop there as when they got to Amman, the injury of Thirdy was worse than expected. What was originally diagnosed as a knee contusion ended up being a hyperextension.
The reigning PBA Most Valuable Player was the only guard with court generalship experience left.
“Unang-una, siyempre pressure. Siyempre, makapaglaro sa Gilas, yung opportunity na yun, kailangan mo gawin yung best para sa bayan,” said the 29-year-old native of Davao. “Hindi masyadong malaking adjustment kasi sa Ginebra, naglalaro na ko as point.
“Pero yun nga, sabi ni Coach Chot [Reyes], bago kami lumipad dito na wala nga si Kiefer kaya next man up. Kailangan talaga mag-step up,” recalled Thompson.
“Thankful kasi kahit papano, nabigay ko yung best ko. Credit din sa lahat kasi ginawa namin lahat para sa kababayan namin.”
Thompson though made sure to not let the pressure get the best of him.
After all, he was tapped by Gilas not for his scoring, but for all the intangibles he gives a team.
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“Hindi ako umalis sa comfort zone ko, dun talaga ako komportable. Yun nga, hoping ako na nadala ko dito sa Gilas yun. Thankful ako na naipapakita ko.
“Hindi ako focused doon sa scoring, pag may chance lang. Marami kasing key players dito. Nandiyan si CJ (Perez), Ray (Parks), at Dwight (Ramos) so ayoko ng makipag-agawan dun,” he said.
“Gusto ko mag-stick na lang ako sa role ko as a point guard. Kailangan ko ma-spread yung bola sa kanila at kailangan ko ma-balance yung touches nila, especially nandiyan si Kai (Sotto). Thankful ako na nali-lead ko sila,” he added.
Despite packing athleticism, Gilas had a distinct size disadvantage against Jordan, who had an average height of 6-foot-5. But just like in the PBA, that did not stop the 6-foot-1 guard from crashing the boards.
Against Jordan on Friday (Manila time), Thompson brought his trademark ‘kalawit’ rebound even against the likes of 6-foot-11 Ahmad Al Dwairi and 6-foot-11 Muhammad Hussein.
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“Masarap kasi yun nga hindi talaga kalawit rebound. Lagi namin sinisigaw ‘puso’, it’s all about heart. Yung mga rebound ko kanina, all-heart na lang yun para sa team, especially down the stretch.
“To be honest, hindi ko naisip na sa rebound yun. Na-feel ko kanina, sa defense namin bumaba yung laro nila. Talagang aside sa rebounding, yung defense namin naging mas solid. Talagang naguusap kami. Everytime may deadball, kailangan namin mag-huddle kaya mas naging solid defense namin,” said Thompson, who led Gilas to a big 74-66 win over Jordan.
For Thompson, this was just their way of giving back to the OFWs that trooped to Prince Hamzah Hall.
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“Kaunti lang sila pero mas maingay pa sila sa banda na nasa likod namin. Nararamdaman talaga namin na bibihira na makanood sila ng basketball at mapanood kami. Malaking bagay talaga sila sa game. Talagang yung suporta nila parang homecourt na natin.”
The work though is not done for Thompson and Gilas.
The bigger picture is still nine months away. But finally, they got the win which they can build on heading to the biggest stage.
“Stick lang kami sa system ni coach at trust the process.”
