Scottie Thompson’s eyes widened upon hearing the announcement that he was hailed as the PBA Press Corps Finals MVP on the heels of Barangay Ginebra’s conquest of the Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup on Wednesday night.
The star playmaker could hardly believe that he earned the nod from the men and women religiously covering the beat–it took some time for him to process the reality, even if he already has the Ramon S. Fernandez Trophy in his hands.
“Kasi itong series na ‘to, alam ko ‘yung struggle ko, alam ko ‘yung ups and downs ko,” he explained as the dust settled in their 88-76 victory over old tormentor TNT in Game 7 of the Finals at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
The former league MVP did struggle after a remarkable Game 3 showing last June 7, in which he finished with a triple-double of 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists to start in their 116-102 victory for the 2-1 series lead.
In the three games that followed, the 32-year-old scored a total of 13 points on a combined 4-of-24 shooting from the floor, compelling Justin Brownlee to do much of the heavy lifting to make sure that the Kings stay afloat.
(C) PBA Images
Given that personal skid, fans and observers alike came in with their takes for the Finals MVP winner, vouching for either newly minted BPC RJ Abarrientos or Troy Rosario since they also submitted good games during the whole series.
The former overseas import himself actually had 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting back in Game 4, the same night where Thompson only had four to his tally.
However, Abarrientos subsequently became a marked man on defense, and his numbers–particularly his shooting percentage–would take a dip.
Rosario, on the other hand, had himself a good Game 1 with 16 points and nine rebounds, but struggled to at least emulate as much in the next six games.
Still, the two earned themselves good cases for the coveted title, but Thompson would go on to secure it for himself following a Game 7 to remember.
The former NCAA MVP out of Perpetual saved his best for last in the series and finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists, as he played a crucial part in their third-quarter reversal that put the crowd darlings up for good.
And lest we forget that he did all that despite suffering a painful cut near the eye following an inadvertent hit by Kelly Williams barely a minute into Game 7.
2026 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals Game 7 – Ginebra vs TNT – Scottie Thompson
“Thank God. I think the more bukol, the more panalo,” he joked, as he also suffered a bump on the head late in Game 1 of their semis series versus Rain or Shine. “Siguro, parang naging blessing na lang ‘yun para magising ako.
“Kasama sa laro. Aggressive lang din siya, aggressive din ako. Natamaan lang din talaga. Nasaktuhan. Daming bugbog ngayong series kaya sobrang worth it.”
Eventually, the Finals MVP honors would come his way, becoming just the second recipient of the Ramon Fernandez Trophy after June Mar Fajardo, who got his by steering San Miguel to the top of the Season 50 Philippine Cup.
“Nagulat lang ako. Bonus na ‘yun for me. Ang daming teammates ko na maganda ‘yung nilaro,” he opined.
“But truly blessed na naibigay sa akin.”
Winning the award–now his third–was totally unexpected, said Thompson, as he only wanted to grow his collection of PBA championships to eight.
“Kasi ang gusto ko lang naman, makatulong dito sa team at makakuha pa ng isang championship para sa team and para sa sarili ko,” he said.
“Kasi, ang tagal na naming hindi nakakakuha, at the same time na-stuck ako sa seven,” he added.
“Ang sarap pakinggan, nadagdagan ng isa.”
