FORMER MVP Scottie Thompson of Ginebra scored two straight baskets in the face of TNT gunner Calvin Oftana late before rising above the opponents for a one-handed rebound that finished off their foes last Sunday night.
Big-time players thrive in big moments—and Thompson proved just that and provided his team the much-needed inspiration.
“Even though Justin (Brownlee) made some big shots down the stretch, it was really the inspiration of Scottie that really turned the tide for us,” coach Tim Cone said after the Kings held off the Tropang Giga 73-66 in Game 5 of their best-of-7 title battle for the PBA Commissioner’s Cup. “There’s just so much that Scottie does. I’d say this even if you weren’t here, Scottie.
“There is so much that Scottie does that doesn’t show up in the scorecard or the points or the rebounds,” he added.
The hard-earned win allowed Ginebra to grab a 3-2 series lead, thanks mainly to the 6-foot-1 Thompson’s double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds, on top of five assists and two steals.
But those numbers are secondary to the intangibles that Thompson is doing in the Big Dance of the import-spiced joust.
“He gets those stuff but his impact is so much greater than that. You can see that,” Cone said. “I think, more in Game 5 than just about any time, that he just inspired the whole team.”
Game 6 is set tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, with TNT determined to drag the series to a seventh game this Friday, March 28, also at the Big Dome – if the Tropang Giga can find a way to slow down Thompson.
“That kalawit rebound he had was amazing when a time when we weren’t getting rebounds,” Cone said. “The shots down the stretch, getting the ball to the right people was a brilliant, brilliant game by Scottie in the second half.”
