By JEREMIAH SEVILLA
Winning a championship has been an annual thing for Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s do-it-all guard Scottie Thompson.
After being selected fifth overall by the Kings in 2015, Thompson has captured a title every season, starting with the 2016 Governor’s Cup where American import Justin Brownlee hit the unforgettable buzzer-beating, crown-clinching triple.
Thompson then helped Ginebra rule the 2017 Governor’s, 2018 Commissioner’s Cup where he was named Finals MVP, 2019 Governor’s and most recently the 2020 Philippine Cup under a grueling bubble format.
For the 27-year-old high-flying guard, the Kings’ latest championship run is the sweetest and at the same time the hardest not because Brownlee was not around, but because of the extraordinary circumstances they ‒ and all the 11 other teams ‒underwent in the bubble mounted in Clark, Pampanga.
“Best championship kasi ito ‘yung hardest to win. Hindi lang basketball ‘yung nilaban namin eh. Dahil sa pandemic na nangyari, ‘yung kalusugan natin nilaban din natin dito,” said Thompson.
Despite the initial inkling to join the league restart and the report of two false positive cases that raised suspicion on the safety of the self-contained zone, Thompson and Ginebra pressed on, going through a compressed schedule of practices and games in more than two months.
In the end, it was all worth it for the Kings as they overwhelmed the TNT Tropang Giga, 4-1, in the finals to become the first and possibly the only bubble champions in PBA history.
“Sobrang worth it na napanalo namin ‘yung champioinship kasi maaalala ‘to ng mga tao eh. First bubble ng PBA tapos kami nag-champion,” said the Thompson, who posted 8.6 points and 8.6 rebounds in the title series, and sank the go-ahead corner trey in Game Two which was reminiscent of his three-pointer that sent Ginebra past Meralco and into the finals.
“Hopefully, kung anong next conference, ano mang mangyari, at least kami lang nakakuha ng championship sa bubble. Part na kami ng history ng PBA,” he added.
What makes the bubble season more difficult is the fact that the former NCAA MVP from Perpetual Help and the rest of the PBA delegation need to deal with being away from their families which reminded him of the sacrifices of the overseas Filipino workers.
“Mahirap pala talaga ‘pag malayo ka sa family mo. Naiisip ko ‘yung mga OFWs, kung paano sila magsakripisyo. Ganon din sa’min, nag-sacrifice kami. And then, pag-uwi namin sa’min feeling namin sobrang proud ‘yung mga families namin after ng halos three months na wala kami.”
Going back home, Thompson believes the bond that the Kings built during their 74-day all-Filipino campaign will help them as they go for more crowns in the future.
“Natutunan ko na i-cherish talaga every moment dito sa bubble, lahat ng mga nangyayari talaga vina-value mo. Mas lalong nakilala ko ‘yung teammates ko.”
“Kung hindi na bubble (next season), malaking tulong sa’min ‘to kasi mas nakilala namin ang isa’t isa.”
