By REYNALD MAGALLON
Injury bug continues to bite hard on Gilas Pilipinas after star guard Scottie Thompson was ruled out for the team’s campaign in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament next month in Riga, Latvia.
Thompson, according to Gilas assistant coach and team manager Richard del Rosario, is joining Jamie Malonzo and AJ Edu in the sick bay due to a bulging disc on his lower back – an injury that also forced Thompson to miss a couple of games for Ginebra in the PBA.
The 30-year-old playmaker actually played through the injury during the Kings’ Philippine Cup campaign where they got eliminated by the Meralco Bolts in a seven-game affair in the semifinals.
Thompson was not around when the Nationals began its buildup for the OQT on Friday, June 21, at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna.
The setback left Gilas head coach Tim Cone without a natural point guard who is very much familiar to his system.
It’s still unclear whether Gilas will get a replacement for Thompson especially when there’s only roughly two weeks left before the tournament and only a couple of days remaining before the team goes on to a European trip as part of its preparations.
Without Thompson, the Nationals may need to rely on combo guards Dwight Ramos, CJ Perez and Chris Newsome to take turns in running the point. Naturalized player Justin Brownlee may also be needed in playmaking especially with his familiarity to Cone’s system.
In Gilas’ two games in the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers last February, Thompson played a crucial part to the Nationals’ tournament-leading offense that averaged 100.0 points and 31.5 assists per game.
Thompson, alone, was averaging nine assists through the two games – a void that needs to be filled in not only by the Gilas backcourt but also the entire team especially going up against more formidable squads in world No. 6 Latvia and No. 21 Georgia.
Gilas will get a test on how it can play without Thompson when it takes on the Taiwan Mustangs on Monday, June 24, in a friendly match.
