Seemingly, the corner is becoming a sweet spot for Scottie Thompson.
The reigning PBA MVP shined in Ginebra’s come-from-behind win versus San Miguel on Sunday night with a clutch triple from the left corner, evoking memories of his endgame heroics in the Clark bubble a couple of years ago.
As known by many, the do-it-all guard nailed a trey from the same side in the Kings’ do-or-die 2020 Philippine Cup semis match against Meralco, which ultimately sent them to the Finals to eventually cop the Perpetual trophy.
This time, he did so to help the Barangay extend their winning streak to three in the ongoing Commissioner’s Cup, in the process collecting their fifth victory in seven outings to rise to the fourth spot in the team standings.
“Siguro ano… ewan ko ba. May anting-anting ata sa corner na ‘yan,” kidded Thompson after the match at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
“Thankful lang talaga sa every opportunity na gano’ng pagkakataon, nasu-shoot pa yon,” he continued.
The 29-year-old deflected the credit to Justin Brownlee for that shot, immensely thankful for the resident import’s trust by deferring to him for the shot that gave Ginebra its first-ever taste of the lead with 4.8 seconds left to play.
Brownlee himself was the one who dished the ball to Thompson for that shot, swinging it to him right after catching the tip by Jamie Malonzo, who won the jump ball at the free throw circle against SMB guard CJ Perez.
“Si Justin talaga nag plano nun eh,” he recalled. “Sabi ko nun kay Justin nung jumpball, pag nakuha niya yung bola, naka plan na ita-tap sa kanya. So sabi ko sa kaya, pagkakuha ko ng bola screen ako agad sa kanya.”
“Pero sabi niya, ‘No, no, no, go straight to the corner. I got you. I’ll give you the ball,‘” he added. “Sabi ko, ‘Wow.’ Ganda ng tiwala. At na-boost ‘yung kumpyansa ko, kaya naging ready ako sa corner shot na yon.
“Coming from Justin ‘no, na import namin? Tiwala niya.”
Even head coach Tim Cone couldn’t hide his delight with that kind of connection between the two, expressing how much of a ‘luxury’ it’s been for him to be coaching both the reigning king and the Best Import at the same time.
“From the Best Import to the MVP. What a luxury that is for me as a coach. The trust was there and he made a great pass and Scottie made a great shot from the corner,” said the league’s winningest mentor.
Thompson went on to finish with a full line of 14 points, six rebounds, six assists, five steals, and a block in nearly 33 minutes. Though he’s happy that Ginebra pulled off the win, the seven-year pro refuses to get too high.
“Masarap sa pakiramdam. Pero, ‘yun nga, gaya ng sabi ni Coach Tim, ‘di puwedeng ganito lagi games namin,” he said. “Dami pa kaming adjustments, especially sa mga personal namin at new plays.
“Thankful lang kami kasi talagang heto ‘yung gusto namin eh, makakuha ng maraming wins as much as possible this eliminations para coming into playoffs, ready kami. At may magandang spot,” added Thompson.
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
