Scottie Thompson didn’t have much to offer about fouling out late in Ginebra’s PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinal do-or-die affair with Meralco on Sunday night.
But the league’s reigning Most Valuable Player didn’t hide his frustration over the unceremonious exit, which indeed contributed to the Kings’ eventual ouster in the conference they lorded over just a couple of seasons ago.
“Nakaka-frustrate para sa akin. Hindi ko rin alam eh. Wala akong masabi,” he said moments after their 106-104 defeat at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Thompson got called for his sixth and final foul with 10.3 seconds left as he was called for a charge on opposing big man Cliff Hodge while attacking the rim.
That, of course, drew reactions from the Kings and the partisan crowd like, but the call remained. And it definitely was a tough blow for the Barangay, who were already down that point following Raymond Almazan’s triple moments prior.
The 29-year-old watched helplessly from the bench since then, and witnessed his side absorb its first playoff loss to the same team it had previously beaten six times in the playoffs, which started in the 2016 Governors’ Cup Finals.
“Breaks of the game, maraming nangyari. Siguro nga iba yung nakita ng referee sa nakita namin,” said Thompson, who finished with a game-high 26 points and six rebounds. “Siguro it happens, ganoon talaga siguro yung basketball.”
It surely is painful for Ginebra to lose in such a manner, considering that they unleashed a fiery NSD fightback that saw them chop a 21-point third quarter deficit to just one, 104-103, behind LA Tenorio with 1:12 left.
Still, Thompson doesn’t look at it as a positivity in the loss, lamenting that they shouldn’t have allowed themselves to fall into a hole so deep.
“‘Yun ‘yung mistake namin noong una, talagang down kami, I think 21 points. Doon pa lang, pagkakamali namin ‘yun,” he said.
With the heartbreaking defeat, the six-time champ apologized to the Barangay, especially those who trooped to MoA, for not getting the job done.
“Ginawa namin ‘yung best namin para makabalik sa game para sa mga Ginebra fans na talagang chumi-cheer sa amin kanina. But it was not enough,” he said as Ginebra missed the Philippine Cup semis for the second time in a row.
“Kinulang, talagang ganoon siguro yung basketball. For us ngayon, titignan namin paano kami mag move forward sa game na ito.”
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
