Scottie Thompson rocked the whole SMART Araneta Coliseum on Sunday.
The third-year guard donned the hero’s role for the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, hitting clutch shots to pave the way for the Gin Kings’ 87-83 victory over the San Miguel Beermen to move closer to the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup title.
Thompson scored six of the Gin Kings’ 9-0 finishing kick, and his last basket – a fastbreak lay-up off a Joe Devance find with 23.1 seconds left – gave his team an 86-83 lead, was what brought the crowd on its’ feet.
But for the 6-foot-1 dynamo, his shots were simply lucky.
“Sobrang lucky lang kasi ‘yung nga, yung defense nila, talagang grind out, so yung mga shoot ko bandang huli, I think, lucky shot na lang ‘yun,” said the 25-year-old combo guard.
“We really need this game, gusto naming ipanalo to so thankfully, ‘yun.”
Thompson finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and three assists, a notable performance considering he suffered a bad fall prior to his offensive exploits, when he tried to attack the defense of June Mar Fajardo.
And head coach Tim Cone was left in awe of his outing.
“Unbelievable,” he said. “Scottie’s gonna become more and more a complete player. He’s gonna be a 20-point scorer at some point in his career. He’s gonna average eight, 10 assists a game, and probably average 12, 14 rebounds.
“I’ve said it a year ago – or maybe longer than that – he reminds me of Russell Westbrook,” he added.
“I think he’s gonna end up playing like that eventually… Sooner or later he’ll be a veteran, and everybody will look up to him.”
But even with the high praises, Thompson is keeping it low-key.
“Unang-una, thankful kasi coming from coach Tim. Hindi ko linalagay sa ulo ko,” said Thompson, Ginebra’s third overall pick in the 2015 Rookie Draft. “I keep working hard every time. Hindi ako mag-stay sa ganun lang.”
Expectations of him coming out with a similar performance in the possible title-clincher on Game Six have totally shot up. But Thompson is moderating such.
“For me, no expectations para sa akin,” shared the native of Davao Del Sur, who’s now averaging 10.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 3.8 assists in the series.
“Sa akin, ang mae-expect is maging aggressive lang every time.”
