Like his fellow ka-Barangays, Scottie Thompson felt relieved after Barangay Ginebra San Miguel got back on track through a 103-77 demolition of the lowly Kia Picanto, Wednesday night at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
The three-year pro said that this victory is an important one for the Gin Kings, who are coming off a 78-81 loss to the NLEX Road Warriors last Saturday, as their sights are all locked on the 2018 Philippine Cup playoffs.
“Sobra (important) kasi ito yung parang stepping stone namin para may chance kami lalo sa playoffs,” said Thompson.
“Gaya nga ng sabi ni coach Tim [Cone], ito yung playoff game na namin pati sa mga remaining games namin.”
The 24-year-old had a huge outing that helped the Barangay walk away with the win. He was actually three assists from a triple-double, finishing with 12 points, a game-high 14 rebounds, and seven assists.
This isn’t something new for the Davao-born point guard, who is currently averaging 10.8 points, 10.25 rebounds, and 6.4 assists. For him, this is just the result of his aggressiveness and his desire to help his team.
“Yun lang naman lagi kong ginagawa, stay aggressive,” the 6-foot-1 guard pointed out. “Yun lang naman ang hindi ko tinatanggal sa game ko kahit malas ako at ‘di maka-shoot. Yun lang talaga maitutulong ko sa team ko yung aggressiveness ko.
“Step up lang ako sa binibigay na chance ni coach sa akin.”
And that kind of aggressiveness is what he and Ginebra should have heading into their last three matches in the eliminations — games that Thompson considers crucial ones, as they vie for a spot in the quarterfinals.
“Oo, especially yung next game against TNT [on Sunday]. So sana mas madala namin yung aggressiveness namin from this game.”