Scottie Thompson didn’t hide his elation at being a candidate for the 2022 PBA Governors’ Cup Best Player of the Conference (BPC) award.
But the do-it-all guard would rather lock in on Ginebra’s upcoming Finals series against rivals Meralco, their fourth title bout in the last five seasons.
“Happy na ‘ko na nakasama ako sa pinagpipilian,” he expressed during the pre-Finals press conference, Monday at the Novotel Manila Araneta in Cubao.
“Pero, for now, dito muna ako sa Finals mag-focus.”
The 28-year-old has emerged as the favorite to win the BPC after maintaining his hold of the second spot in the stats points race after the semifinals.
Thompson has 35.0 SPs to his name, thanks to his per-game averages of 13.5 points, 9.6 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 1.1 steals.
Still at the top is Robert Bolick. Matthew Wright is at third, followed by Arwind Santos and Mikey Williams to round up the five-man battle.
However, none in the race except for the Davao del Sur-native had gone all the way to the semis and now the Finals, boosting his chances even more.
He has never won the BPC award in his career.
And should the stars align, Thompson may be crowned alongside Justin Brownlee, who’s leading the Best Import race with 53.7 SPs.
If that happens, they would be the first teammates since TNT’s Jayson Castro and Terrence Jones in 2019 to win a conference’s top honors at the same time.
Then again, all that is far from Thompson’s mind.
He, instead, has his sights set on the big prize.
“Sa ngayon, focus muna ako rito sa Finals,” said the Perpetual legend, who has the opportunity to grow his PBA championship collection to six.
“Mas importante ‘to.”
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