Scottie Thompson had himself some extra motivation heading into Barangay Ginebra’s 2021-22 PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinal series with TNT.
“Personally, nasa utak ko, motivated ako coming into this series kasi last bubble, wala ako,” said the five-time champion.
He was referring to the 2021 Philippine Cup quarters in Bacolor, which he missed as he got placed under health and safety protocols.
It was just one of the handful of woes that came the Gin Kings’ way that conference, one of which was the knee injury Japeth Aguilar suffered.
So, the 28-year-old could only watch from afar helplessly, as his side fell to the Tropang Giga, 71-84, putting a bitter end to their championship reign.
“Hindi ako nakalaro nung quarterfinals, so, ‘yun. Extra motivation sa akin coming into this series,” said Thompson.
And that push he had within was evident on the hardwood. On Saturday evening, the 28-year-old helped Ginebra obliterate its corporate rivals, 100-85, to boot them out and clinch a spot in the semifinals to exact vengeance.
Thompson finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists as he came close to racking his sixth career triple-double.
More importantly, he helped out during that third quarter assault that broke the game wide open, which saw them lead by as high as 23.
The former Gilas guard has actually been impressive not just on Saturday but in their past few games, where they collected the needed wins to make the playoffs after suffering losses one after the other.
For Thompson, it’s him embracing the bigger role he has to take with the Barangay hounded by injuries, especially to star scorer Stanley Pringle.
“From eliminations, personally nagkaroon ako ng mabibigat na adjustment. We know maraming nawala sa amin. In the long run, na-embrace ko to step up, kasi wala si Stanley, ganun,” said the six-year pro.
“Siguro it’s really a matter of stepping up, kahit sino sa amin kailangan next man up. And yung mga hard work ko sa practice, extra work, yun siguro nag-pay off sa series na ‘to,” he continued.
But being the team-first guy that he is, Thompson is just proud of how the Barangay managed to overcome adversity in this conference. Still, he’s keeping his feet on the ground, insisting that they haven’t achieved anything yet.
“Alam naman natin, elimination pa lang, sobrang nag-struggle kami. Up and down yung laro namin. Pero this series, talagang nagje-jel yung tam, yung chemistry, saktong-sakto na. Maganda yung nilalaro namin,” he said.
“But for now, wala pa kaming naa-achieve being the defending champions sa conference na ‘to. Kailangan din talaga namin lumaban siyempre para sa fans and para sa sarili namin.”
—
All PBA games stream live on GigaPlay. Download it now on Android or IOS.
The second game of each playdate is also livestreamed on SMART Sports.
