By REYNALD MAGALLON
Acknowledging his superb athleticism and boundless energy and hustle, Gilas Pilipinas guard Scottie Thompson has been voted by the fans as the 2022 Player of the Year.
The Filipino fans made sure to rally behind the charismatic guard who bested NBA player and Japanese star Yuta Watanabe for the award. Thompson also beat the likes of Wael Arakji of Lebanon, Zhou Qi of China, Dar Tucker of Jordan, Sanchir Tungalag of Mongolia, Benam Yakhchali of Iran and Freddie Lish of Thailand.
Thompson has successfully translated his play to the international stage bringing in his rebounding prowess and impeccable nose for the ball in the final two windows of the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers enough to convince the fans to vote for him in the polls.
His most notable performance was during the fifth window of the qualifiers where he proved to be a vital part to Gilas’ sweep of its Middle-East trip against Jordan and Saudi Arabia. He averaged all around numbers of 8.5 points, 11 rebounds and 5.5 assists during that stretch.
Aside from Thompson, Gilas center Kai Sotto and Gilas women hotshot Kristan Yumul also won the Young Player of the Year award in men’s and women’s category.
Sotto edged out India’s Kushal Singh in the final poll after also beating Asia’s some of the best up-and-coming players in Youssef Khayat (Lebanon), Derrick Michael Xzavierro (Indonesia), Yang Hansen (China), Lee JooYeoung (Korea), Yuto Kawashima (Japan), and Mohammad Amini (Iran).
Yumul, on the other hand, got the most number of votes over the likes Li WenXia (China), Hadiseh Ghesmati Almani (Iran), Elaine Chong Hui Lin (Malaysia), Chinami Yokoyama (Japan), Park SeongJin (Korea), Nyamjav Nandinkhusel (Mongolia), and Yu Wen Hsiao (Chinese Taipei) to bag the award.
