Barangay Ginebra San Miguel looked dead in the water right in the opening frame of Game 5 against the San Miguel Beermen. They seemed a step slow. Ginebra appeared so out of it that Tim Cone had to call not one, not two, but three timeouts to right the ship in the first eight minutes of the game.
A few minutes after that third timeout, Scottie Thompson took matters into his own hands. With Ginebra down 33-20, the former MVP flashed his MVP form, bringing back the crowd darlings almost singlehandedly.
Scottie for three. 33-23.
Scottie lay-in. 33-25.
Scottie offensive board plus another lay-in. 33-27.
Scottie assisted Justine Brownlee for four. 33-31.
And just like that, Ginebra was back in the game.
Cone Explains Why Scottie Thompson Is Valuable, Special
Put simply, Thompson breathed life back to Ginebra when it looked ready to be blown out—as in Game 4 when San Miguel all but toyed with the crowd darlings. There was going to be no blowout this time around, not with a special performance from a special player.
“I don’t know what we would’ve done without Scottie in that first quarter. They were coming down, hitting every shot and then Scottie would make some impossible shot, or an impossible rebound, whatever it took to stay in the game Scottie would do it,” Cone told reporters after Game 5.
Not that the two-time Grand Slam-winning coach is surprised. In fact, he is used to it.
“That’s Scottie’s MO his whole career,” Cone added. “That’s why he’s so valuable for us, for Ginebra, for Gilas… He does so many things that are just right timing… He just has that feeling. He’s a special kid, he really is.”
That special kid finished with 22 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals—and he just helped Ginebra get a 3-2 series lead in Game 5.
Game 6 of the PBA Governors’ Cup semis between Ginebra and San Miguel is on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
