BY REYNALD MAGALLON
Ginebra is simply on another level when Scottie Thompson is around and physically well.
Kings head coach Tim Cone admitted that the presence of the one-time Most Valuable Player elevated his team’s level of play and it was very much evident in Ginebra’s 110-96 victory over Meralco.
“Of course, one of the big things tonight is to get this guys back,” said Cone while pointing at Thompson who sat beside him during the post-game presser
“He changed the way we play with all of his hustle and desire on both ends of the floor tonight,” he added.
Thompson made his presence felt in his first game back from a knee injury, scattering 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists but, more importantly, helped Ginebra snap a two-game slide and remain in contention for a Top 4 finish and a quarterfinals incentive.
Incidentally, the two losses also came in the heels of Thompson’s absence.
Not only that the veteran guard orchestrated the attack for Ginebra, but he also made sure to put the clamps down on Meralco import Zach Lofton who the Kings limited to just 23 points after exploding for an average of 42 points in the last two games.
“His defense, it was a tag team. Him, Mav (Ahanmisi) and Jamie (Malonzo) were tag teaming off their import and they all did a great job. Just the extra passing and ball movement that Scottie does it gets infectious to everybody,” explained Cone.
“It makes a big difference when you’ve got your leader on the floor and that was Scottie,” he added.
Even opposing head coach Luigi Trillo pointed out the difference Thompson makes for Ginebra when he’s on the floor.
“I thought it was Scottie. Scottie came in and he changed everything. Two games that they lost he wasn’t there and you can see the disparity in their movement. He was a plus-20 in the stat sheet,” said Trillo, whose four-game win streak got snapped by the loss.
“He changes everything. He was a point of attack and you can’t take the pressure off (Tony) Bishop and (Christian) Standhardinger and everything changes with them,”he added.
