With a known disadvantage brought by the presence of two twin towers. The playmaker providing an extra boost for the team is a must. Here are 5 players that will surely go head-to-head this season.
1. Scottie Thompson
Despite Brgy Ginebra having its own twin tower. They are one of the must beat team today. They need some extra push aside from Japeth and Greg and extra efforts require some exceptionality which Scottie Thompson possesses. His unusual style of playing as a guard would increase Gin Kings’ unpredictability.
2. Terrence Romeo
Of course, Romeo wouldn’t be missing in action. It became his nature as a huge scorer for the Batang Pier. Romeo is also hungry for the title. At his young career, he already has proven himself and there’s only one thing left to cement his legacy, winning a title. Surely, Romeo gets fiercer and fiercer with every cup that he and Globalport haven’t won or even reached the finals.
3 and 4. James Yap and Paul Lee
As criticisms arise that trading these two guys onto each other’s respective teams are ineffective. Yap and Lee surely have the drive to convert criticisms into fallacies. Both of their teams were powerhouses and they do not want them though explicit, be these teams reason to sink to the abyss.
5. Jayson Castro
Who can match the speed of the blur? The best point guard in Asia would never be left behind the point guard showdown. Though it might be hard for Castro to penetrate when against Ginebra and SMB, he’ll make threes rain on the arena.
JunMar Fajardo on a Press Conference after being awarded as the MVP
Every year, more and more players are added to the league, rookies are explosive and veterans’ improvement are seemingly infinite. With this ever widening pool of potential athletes in the Philippine Basketball Association, let us try to narrow down and predict the possible MVP Awardees so here we go.
Let us scratch out the current MVP JunMar Fajardo in the list because of course he is an automatic candidate for everyone watching the PBA but let us include his potential rivals under the rim. We have Gregzilla, Greg Slaughter.
1 – Greg Slaughter
Greg Slaughter is by far Fajardo’s biggest foe in the shaded area. Slaughter has the strength, skill and of course the size to go head-to-head against Fajardo and thus give him a hard time from scoring easy baskets underneath.
2 – Terrence Romeo
If the trade rumor is real, then Terrence Romeo will have the chance to be deployed with a stronger team that may get to the finals or even give him his 1st championship. Romeo always is an MVP material but it’s the Batang Pier’s lack of success that’s holding him back to reach this ever delighted achievement.
A pointguard who shines with rebounds? It is kinda extraordinary. Scottie Thompson does not just get the arbitrarty rebounds but also significant offensive and defensive boards for his team and not just that, he can penetrate, shoot from the outside and dish out assists. Scottie is a full-package player.
4 – Paul Lee
Who does not know the Leethal Weapon? A crossover artist. The league only has a few numbers which can handle the ball well and perform ankle breaking crossovers. Such players are of course Paul Lee, Terrence Romeo and Stanley Pringle. With the possession of this considered to be extraordinary talent, Paul Lee is a very dangerous guard who can drive pass or drag you down with his killer crossovers for easy plays.
5 – Cliff Hodge
If there’s a hustle man for the Meralco Bolts, then it is nobody but Cliff Hodge. With extra efforts in rebounding, Hodge always provides the Bolts with an extra push towards victory.
These 5 exceptional athletes are all potential MVP’s but the possibilities aren’t limited to these guys. Who knows what awaits all of us this coming season? We are all here to watch whatever action they’ll give. It’s just great to watch every game while keeping an eye on some potentials and continuously evaluating their performance.
First of all, there aren’t any rumors that L.A. Tenorio will retire. This is just a view of Barangay Ginebra with a different point guard making their plays. So here we go.
If there would be anyone to become Ginebra’s point guard replacing Tenorio on my view we have two potentials – Sol Mercado and Scottie Thompson. It is quite interesting for us to have some predictions on what the picture may look like with this entirely new offensive form so let us begin.
The Sol Train
Sol Mercado is known for his quick penetration through the defense – like a train, that’s why he has that nickname.
He could shot outside but his specialty is really going hard to the basket and finish with a layup after passing the guards with his speed and agility.
How about a point guard with that skill? Let us use some known reference like Russell Westbrook. Yes you are right, Westbrook can penetrate also using speed and agility to make great assists for his teammates. So as Sol Mercado, with his quick drives, he’ll draw much of the defense unto him and when attraction is fully established then there’ll be a quick kick out pass to an outside shooter or an extra inside pass to a big man like Greg Slaughter or Japeth Aguilar for an easy finish.
Point guards who can penetrate can extremely shake up any defense to confusion if they’re the one to shoot or they’ll just pass. The fact is it cannot be predicted for the actions of Sol Mercado as this situation will be based on the reaction of the defense. If the defender becomes static long enough, then he’ll finish the play by himself, but, if the defense suddenly focused onto him then he’ll just find the best open man to finish the shot.
If Sol Mercado has the agility, then Scottie Thompson is a very much different type of point guard.
We all know what makes him special – rebounds.
Imagine a point guard rebounding for his team’s misses. To even imagine the advantage of the scenario, let us use another general reference. Normally, if the first attempt miss, the center or forward is on duty to get an offensive rebound and then kick the ball out to the point guard to revert the offense and try to score again.
But now, it is the point guard himself who can get his own rebounds for the team, thus there is a lesser time required for the offense to restart, after a play is made regardless of the shot being made or not, the defense will loosen up due to being focused if the ball will go down the rim or not, if this happens, let’s say the shot missed, then there’s Scottie for the board, the play maker already has the ball in his hand and is ready for restart whilst the defense will be rebuilt again, Ginebra will be one step ahead during second chance points.
L.A., Scottie and Sol are very different players providing a very diverse set of attacking schemes for the team.
The point guard directs the flow but it is still up to the man who touches the ball last if the play will count and make the difference.
Because of these things, the series is tied at 2-2 instead of Ginebra holding a 3-1 leading heading into Game 5
For the second straight game, Ginebra failed to utilize their height advantage. (Photo by the PBA Media Bureau)
Despite another 34-point performance from Justin Brownlee, despite the fact that we got to see the Fast and the Furious in action, and despite the vociferously deafening “GI-NE-BRA!” chants by the Ginebra faithfuls that this basketball pundit on wheels endured, those things weren’t enough as the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings suffered yet another stunning 85-83 defeat at the hands of the Meralco Bolts in last night’s Game 4 which knotted the series at 2-2.
However, we must remember that the game wasn’t won until the final buzzer when Ginebra took 4 shots right after Allen Durham made a lay-up to give the Bolts the lead. 4 shots. 4 attempts. 0 makes.
Even Coach Tim Cone admitted that even if one of his players was able to call a timeout before the last possession, he doubted that it could affect the outcome, stating that calling a timeout will also enable Meralco to make some adjustments. So, the players made the call. Justin Brownlee attempted a floater to force an extra period and he missed. Ouch!
Justin Brownlee may have scored 34 points while making half of his 24 field goal attempts but he had 5 turnovers and had 5 personal fouls. Joe Devance broke out of his shooting slump to score 15 points but fouled out late.
There were many things that went horribly wrong for Ginebra in Game 4 so allow this basketball pundit on wheels to list down 3 things which basically denied the Gin Kings to celebrate tomorrow at the Philippine Arena- should they win Game 5:
4 Points Combined from Tenorio, Thompson and Mercado
One reason why the defending champions struggled and eventually lost Game 4 was the fact none of their guards were shooting and scoring well.
Scottie Thompson scored 4 points on 2 of 5 field goal shooting. LA Tenorio, the hero of Game 2, was pointless, literally as he missed all of his 7 attempts although he did have 6 assists and a steal. Sol Mercado, who gurt hurt late in the dying moments of the game, was scoreless too. He is likely to miss tomorrow’s Game 5 which means the rest of the Ginebra guards needed to make sure that their presence will be felt offensively.
14 Missed from Deep
If anything, Game 4 a reversal of roles. Why? In the first two games of the best-of-7 series, it was the Meralco Bolts who were shooting bricks from outside.
In Games 3 and 4, it was Ginebra who was shooting bricks. Horribly.
In Game 4 alone, the Gin Kings have attempted 22 shots from the 3-point line and they missed a total of 14. Only Justin Brownlee (4 of 8) and Joe Devance (3 of 5) had respectable shooting performance from long distance as they were the only ones who scored in double figures in the first place.
17 Offensive Rebounds for the Bolts
This is another one of those nagging ironies of Game 4. The entire Meralco team out-muscled the much-taller Gin Kings on the offensive boards as evident by their 17-12 advantage in that category. Allen Durham, who top-scored for Meralco with his 28 points, grabbed 18 rebounds- 7 on the offensive end. The result: the Bolts also took a 13-9 advantage on second-chance points.
Conclusion
Assuming that Ginebra did get the timeout on the last possession of Game 4, it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. Sure, they made 43% of their atempts last night but failed to make even one of those 4 attempts in the 40 seconds of the game. Just one make to force an overtime. A 3 to win. Unfortunately, Ginebra faltered. Ginebra missed. And, Ginebra lost. Again.
Because they were lucky that Meralco was shooting bricks in Game 2
Greg Slaughter’s limited production is one of the reasons why Ginebra didn’t dominate Game 2. (Photo by the PBA Media Bureau)
Whether Ginebra fans around the world will admit it or not, the defending champions’ Game 2 86-76 victory over the Meralco Bolts which gave them a 2-0 series lead, showed some flaws which could hurt Ginebra’s chances of winning back-to-back titles if they continue to play the same way come Game 3 on Wednesday.
Given the mere fact that Ginebra’sa biggest lead was at 10 points, many were saying, including this basketball pundit on wheels that the Gin Kings have either gone softer in Gane 2 or, the Bolts were simply defending better than they did in Game 1. Regardless of which was what, the Gin Kings can’t afford to show the same flaws in Game 3 and beyond because yes, a 2-0 lead means they are halfway done but it can be erased in a snap.
What are those flaws that this basketball pundit is saying? Let’s run the numbers then:
1 Assist for LA Tenorio
Okay. Let’s begin this one by saying that it was actually the late-game heroics of Lewis Alfred Tenorio lifted the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings in last night’s win particularly in the dying minutes of the 4th quarter when the crowd darlings were holding a slim margin. It was Tinyente’s three-pointer which gave Ginebra, a 6-point cushion approaching the final minute of the contest. That bomb proved to be the game-winner as Meralco faltered the rest of the way, fading away exactly like they did in the opener.
In the end, Tenorio had 14 points while 3 of his 9 attempts from deep. That was relatively a good shooting percentage especially if you got the big W. The flaw: Tenorio only had 1 ASSIST in almost 35 minutes of action. In Game 1, Tenorio had fewer points but got 5 assists. This basketball pundit isn’t saying that Tenorio shouldn’t shoot the ball because Tenorio is first and foremost, a good shooter to begin with. But Ginebra also needs his playmaking abilities which made him one of the best floor generals in the first play.
Now that 1 assist that Tenorio had last night can be looked at two scenarios: Either he wasn’t passing enough or, he was passing but his teammates weren’t taking advantage of those passes. Either way, the Gin Kings will need more from Tinyente if they want to finish this series and celebrate, as soon as Friday.
3 Points for Greg Slaughter
As this basketball pundit on wheels has been mentioning in most of his articles, Greg Slaughter’s performance will play an important role in this championship run. He may have won the Best Player of the Conference award before tip-off, beating fellow Cebuano, June Mar Fajardo, but if anything, his 3 points and the Best Player of the Conference award didn’t add up. Gregzilla only made 1 of his 6 field goals, went 1 of 3 from the free throw line and, turned the ball over 4 times in 33 minutes of play. Now you tell this basketball pundit, is this how you perform after winning the Best Player of the Conference award?
Fortunately for the Gin Kings, Japeth Aguilar was playing more efficiently than the other half of Ginebra’s Twin Towers. In just 28 minutes of action, Aguilar accumulated 16 points to go along with 8 rebounds, a steal and a block. However, if you want to win a championship against a smaller Meralco team, one thing you can do is to take advantage of your height, right? In Game 2, the Gregzilla wasn’t dominating in any other way which explains why Ginebra wasn’t able to dominate in the entire game.
10 Missed Free Throws for Ginebra
Let’s remember the one fact that Nash Racela hates the most: Ginebra is good at drawing fouls. Now, if you can consistently draw fouls from defenders, free throws will be awarded to you especially if the other team has already reached the limit for the number of fouls in a quarter.
Last night’s Game 2 saw the Gin Kings attempt 21 charities. The flaw was: the Gin Kings missed 10 of those freebies. While that stat won’t matter to fans as long as their team gets the big W, it will matter to Tim Cone.
It will also matter to Norman Black because he can employ a “Hack-a-Scottie” strategy because Scottie Thompson shot 2 of 9 from the line last night- making the 2 charities in the closing minutes to widen the cushion of the Gin Kings. Despite the win, there’s no way you can miss 7 straight free throws and make 2 at the endgame because given how close the final score was, Ginebra was already lucky that Meralco was clanking all night long from the three-point line.
If Ginebra is good at drawing multiple fouls from multiple defenders, then they should be able to make more free throws, right?
Conclusion:
If Ginebra wants to celebrate by Friday night, a good outing in Game 3 is a must. Fortunately, they have the winningest coach in the history of the PBA in Tim Cone at the helm.
One way or another, he will find ways to make Ginebra get back its dominating ways come Wednesday and when that happens, the Meralco Bolts will be in a terrible situation and mind you, folks, not everyone can win a championship by erasing a 0-3 series deficit.
Check out last game highlights: Meralco vs. Ginebra | PBA Governor’s Cup 2017
At one point, there were three Ginebra players bothering MVP candidate Fajardo. (Photo by the PBA Media Bureau)
While there’s no denying the fact that the San Miguel Beermen, a team whose Grand Slam aspiration was crushed to the final piece last night, is still among the elite teams in the league thanks to having the best starting unit that was ever assembled, they had no concrete answer to the way the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings played against them last night and as a result, a 104-84 victory by the Gin Kings which booked their slot into the semifinals.
While many were shocked by the fact that the Beermen struggled offensively during the entire game, many were also quick to admit that Tim Cone’s defensive schemes especially against June Mar Fajardo, worked to perfection as Ginebra successfully limited the offensive output of the Kraken by occasionally throwing in two defenders against the big man who was forced to take difficult shots that were either blocked or miserably missed the basket. And it didn’t stop there. Even the snipers of Coach Leo Austria had a miserable shooting night which was one of the main reasons why they were blown out in the first place.
As good as the win was for Ginebra, let’s take a look at some numbers and see how these numbers contributed to Ginebra’s victory:
8 Offensive Rebounds
This was probably was of the amazing numbers that were produced last night. This, folks, was Scottie Thompson’s total number of offensive rebounds. Let this basketball pundit emphasize it again: Scottie Thompson, a guy who is only 6’1” in height, had 8 OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS and 13 in total. He was the leading rebounder last night. Even though his shots weren’t falling, he managed to find other ways to be effective and out-rebounding the big men of the Beermen allowed Thompson to pass the ball to his teammates for another scoring opportunity. Sure, Fajardo grabbed 9 offensive rebounds but watching Thompson grabbed those 8 offensive rebounds with the big men of San Miguel around him, this guy has the “Never Say Die” mantra printed in his very soul.
9 Points in the Second Quarter for SMB
This was the total points that San Miguel scored in the whole second quarter, a far cry to Ginebra’s 22 points. To begin with, the score was actually tied at 23 apiece to start the quarter and that was when Ginebra’s defense started to bother Fajardo and company. In fact, the Beermen were held scoreless for almost 5 minutes as San Miguel’s shots were clanking or rattling out of the basket thanks to the consistency and the willingness of the Ginebra players to contest shots, even those shots that the Beermen usually make. In addition to this, that scoring drought that was endured by the Beermen allowed the Gin Kings to go on an 8-0 run which allowed them to pull away, for good.
22 Points Bench Productions
Ginebra bench players stepped up and produced 22 points during the entire game which proved essential against a San Miguel team that is known as a team who relies heavily on their starting unit. 13 of those 22 points came from the gentle giant, Greg Slaughter who also got the assignment of trying to stop his fellow Cebuano, Fajardo. Sol Mercado also came off the bench to produce the same number of points as of the entire bench of San Miguel, at 9 points.
25 Dimes
This was the number of assists that Ginebra generated in last night’s victory. As a result, the Gin Kings were able to make most of their scoring opportunities as they made 49% of their field goal attempts, most of them were inside shots such as dunks and lay-ups off crafty passes from Ginebra playmakers. Tinyente LA Tenorio had 10 of those 25 assists, two more than the combined number of assists of San Miguel’s Alex Cabagnot and Chris Ross.
TNT Makes Life More Miserable for Gin Kings with Complications
Glen Rice Jr. regained his shooting touch to help lead TNT to an important win. (Photo by the PBA Media Bureau)
If there’s one game where both teams knew that they cannot afford to lose, it’s probably this game between crowd-darling Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings against the Talk N Text Katropa.
Why? Let’s just say that if Ginebra will lose this game, their road towards a back-to-back Governors’ Cup titles will be much complicated because we all have to remember that the Meralco Bolts can still snatch that Number 1 seed from the Gin Kings, should the Bolts win tomorrow.
As for the Katropa, a win against the Gin Kings will enable them to finish the elimination round with an 8-3 record and should the Bolts go on to win against the San Miguel Beerman tomorrow, Talk N Text will have a fighting chance via the PBA quotient system to enter the playoffs as the number 3 team.
As it turned out, Ginebra will have to wait for the result of the Meralco-San Miguel game tomorrow to know their fate after the Talk N Text Katropa dominated them 122-98 which pushed the Gin Kings’ record to 8-3 after 11 games
The first half was a see-saw battle with Ginebra leading after the first 12 minutes of action and then TNT just started stepping on the gas at every scoring opportunity as Jayson Castro buried 3 of his attempts from beyond the arc as he led TNT with 17 points and 4 assists at the break. TNT took an 8 point lead into halftime despite the struggle of their import, Glen Rice Jr., who had 16 points on a miserable 5 of 15 shooting.
Ginebra on the other hand only had Justin Brownlee who had 14 points at halftime to lead the Gin Kings. While Ginebra forced their opponent to make only 35% of their shots from the rainbow country, they allowed TNT to dominate the 2-point area which saw Castro and company 61% of the shots inside during the first half as compared to Ginebra who only made 42% of their shot within the 2-point area.
When the third quarter started, TNT started building a double-digit lead which reached 14 with under 8 minutes to play in the quarter thanks to Rice Jr’s aggressiveness. In addition to this, local players of Coach Nash Racela made a significant impact throughout the game to counter the earlier struggle of their import. Ginebra fell behind by as much as 17 points after a trey from Rice Jr. with under 6 minutes to go in the quarter. In fact, Ginebra struggled to sustain an offensive run as TNT would simply answer every run they make with a scoring run of their own as the lead later ballooned to 20 after another 3-pointer from who else? Glen Rice Jr. who scored 18 points in that quarter alone. RR Pogoy later hit a 3-pointer of his own to put TNT up by 22 with 4 minutes to spare. Ginebra’s Head Coach Tim Cone could only watch as his team fell behind by 17 entering the fourth quarter.
TNT wanted to make sure that they kept Ginebra at bay as they started the 4th quarter with back-to-back treys from Jayson Castro which forced Tim Cone to call a timeout 2 minutes into the quarter. The Blur would later add 2 more treys and Pogoy would score on a fastbreak dunk as TNT continued to pound in on the points.
What doomed Ginebra in this game? Tons of things. They weren’t able to contain the 3-point shooting of TNT. They allowed Castro and company to make the most of their opportunity from beyond the 3-point line, converting a total of 17 out of 40 attempts which is a far cry to Ginebra’s 6 of 23 attempts from beyond the arc Ginebra was also outscored in terms of the fastbreak points where they only converted 6 points compared to 19 fastbreak points by TNT.
Glen Rice Jr. recovered from his early slump to lead his team with 36 points including 6 of 13 attempts from rainbow country. Castro complimented their import’s performance with 28 points on his own to go along with his 7 assists. Troy Rosario added 15 points, which includes a perfect 3 of 3 shooting from beyond the arc, and 10 rebounds while Kelly Williams finished with 10 points and 11 boards. Roger Pogoy finished the elimination round with 15 points to lead TNT’s players off the bench.
On the other hand, only Justin Brownlee and Japeth Aguilar managed to score in double figures for the Gin Kings as Brownlee and Aguilar finished with 28 and 19 respectively. The rest of the Gin Kings struggled miserably starting with LA Tenorio who only made 1 of his 9 attempts for his 6 points. Joe Devance was also struggling with his offense as he only converted 3 of his 8 attempts, good for 7 points for the night. The Gin Kings cannot simply play this way if they want to win back-to-back Governors’ Cup titles.
Where will the Beast go from here? (Photo by the PBA Media Bureau)
Over the years, Calvin Abueva has been known, loved and even hated for his aggressiveness as well as for his defensive antics that have one primary purpose: to make any player he is guarding at any given moment lose his focus, his cool and eventually, that player’s offensive game will be ruined.
That’s the kind of game Abueva has been playing ever since he came to the PBA since he was drafted by the Alaska Aces back in 2012. Even back in his college days with the San Sebastian Stags in the NCAA where he also won an MVP award, the Beast was already dominant on both ends of the court.
As the Alaska Aces ended their miserable 2017 PBA Governors’ Cup campaign with a 3-8 slate after another embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, nagging whispers regarding Abueva’s future with the team have been making the rounds anew. Even though it has been continuously denied by the Alaska management namely, by Head Coach Alex Compton, circulating rumors has it that Abueva may be on the move come next season.
This is despite the mere fact that both Alaska and Abueva himself, have agreed to a 15.1 million Peso, 3-year deal back in 2015- a deal that will be ending this season. Should Abueva wants to remain with the Aces, it should be easy especially considering the fact that he was considered to be a part of the Aces’ core back in 2015. Was.
If Abueva will be playing for another team come the next season, the Aces will lose a big part of themselves and the Aces themselves know that. But, Abueva wasn’t even in uniform during the Aces’ latest defeat and he has been missing tons of games this season due to personal reasons and his stint with the Gilas Pilipinas.
Should the Beast make a move, which team would be the best destination?
The answer to that question is simple: Ginebra. As mentioned by Abueva himself in the past and earlier this season, he wanted to play for the fan-favorite Gin Kings. In fact, photos of Calvin Abueva in a Ginebra uniform have been circulating in the social media as of late and apparently, fans are clamoring for it to happen- fans of the Gin Kings and the Beast to say the least.
Here’s the question, folks, let’s say Abueva does go on to sign with the Gin Kings, will he fit in the already crowded and talented line-up of Coach Tim Cone? The answer would be a BIG YES. Why? Ginebra is known as the team who lives and dies by their “Never Say Die” mantra and when it comes to never quitting no matter the odds are, we all know that the Beast can live up to that reputation and will stand up against opposing players no matter how big they are- something that we all saw during his stint with Gilas that played in the FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon earlier this year.
Whether or not Calvin Abueva will play for Ginebra, it’s all up to the Beast himself and, to the Alaska management, too. Abueva may have been tamed down a bit but we all know what he’s capable of. The Aces can drop him but they too, themselves know that replacing a player of Calvin’s caliber is a monstrous task for any team for that matter.
If ever Ginebra gets to sign the Beast, that alone, could change the balance in the PBA because imagine a team that has a healthy Greg Slaughter, Japeth Aguilar, Scottie Thompson who is making a name for himself too, an always reliable LA Tenorio and, the Beast, that’s a scary team. It’s like giving a monster another claw for himself.
Scottie Thompson played 28 minutes tonight and scored 4 points but his coach is still all praises for his young guard.
Scottie didn’t have to score against Kia as his teammates are all pouring in with the scoring but it doesn’t mean that he is not capable. Scottie is the type of player who usually fills in the stat sheet from points to rebound to assists. Against Kia, he was not able to contribute with scoring and with his usual rebounding numbers but he led everyone in assists at 10.
It’s a perfect 10 compliment as Scottie was praised by Coach Tim Cone after winning the game against Kia with the score of 120 -99.
Scottie is a guy that is looking to pass, he is infectious, once he starts passing other stars as well. – Tim cone
Scottie reminded Tim Cone so much of an up and coming NBA player that he watched during the summer league by the name of Lonzo Ball.
Lonzo Ball reminds me of Scottie Thompson, willing to pass and fun to watch. Both are big in their position.
Tim Cone pointed out the similarity but also quick to share the difference in shooting and form. He also noted that Scottie still needs to be more consistent in his shooting.
He also mentioned that both Scottie Thompson and Lonzo Ball are special players. Tim Cone was really happy about the similarity and was also happy that unlike Lonzo Ball, Scottie doesn’t have a loudmouthed father and was really thankful for it.
What’s the reason why Scottie Thompson always look great on and off the court?
The young Ginebra player has been playing great basketball and his success have captured many basketball fans. Now on his second year, Scottie has invested some of his hard earned money to a business and prove that it’s never early to prepare for life after basketball.
Scottie has opened his own barbershop late last year and in his recent Instagram post, he mentioned that Thompson’s Sports Hair Shop will be featured on Rated K and showed some behind-the-scene photos. Fans are already very excited and are awaiting when it will be aired on TV.
Thompson’s Sports Hair Shop is located at the CPP Building Rizal Avenue, Digos City, Davao del Sur.
The University of Perpetual Help stand out is carving out a legacy as he continues to become the difference maker each and every game. The 23-year-old sophomore and the former NCAA MVP just converted thousands more believers.
Scottie is the kind of player who contributes in almost every aspect of the game and you can see it by the way he plays. He works hard on both ends of the floor and no one can question his ability to make something happen. Game 2 of the PBA finals series, he was the difference maker once again contributing a total of 18 points, 18 rebounds, 8 Assist, 3 steals and making a crucial lay up in the critical minutes of the game. Almost a triple double again.
He is the future of Barangay Ginebra and the rightful throne to what would be the vacant spot when Caguioa and Helterbrand retires. Thompson and Ferrer have shown us a glimpse of what Ginebra would look like in the near future.
Getting used to seeing the skyscrapers to dominate the boards, this one’s rare. A 6 foot to 6 foot 1 guard has been welcomed in the top players in the rebounding department.
Earl Scottie Thompson a Barangay Ginebra San Miguel sophomore just got into the list of the players with most number of rebounds per game averaging 10 boards in each outing.
People are surprised event non-ginebra fanatics with the way this young guard manages to get the ball off the hands of taller players inside the paint. The “nose-for-the-ball” like what Tim Cone has mentioned in most of his post-game interviews is the gift that this University of Perpetual Help cager has that he compared to his former guard Johnny Abarrientos.
With the absence of their big man Greg Slaughter, filling up those stats in the record book for Ginebra is a big help for the Gin Kings especially for Japeth Aguilar who is now considered to be the focal point of Ginebra’s offense. With the ability of Scottie Thompson combined with Aguilar’s defensive style is another break through for Cone as he tries to get another Championship with this team.
Japeth Aguilar who scored a career-high of 32 points in their manila clasico outing last Christmas day has been a result of him not worrying and not hesitating to take those jumpers as he knows he got some folks that can grab the second chance boards for his team like Joe Devance, Aljon Mariano and their other front liners.
Scottie Thompson is now in the top ten players in terms of rebounds per game along side the other teams’ Frontliners such as Junmar Fajardo.
Rookie guard Scottie Thompson gained a lot of praises starting from the PBA analysts, players, coaches up to the PBA fans already and it’s not a surprise how everyone admires how this guy gets a lot of attention these days especially in the current PBA finals and Ginebra campaign.
How does this guy play a big part in the Ginebra success? First thing that everyone noticed is, looking at the previous Ginebra play maker roster, it is the first time that Ginebra got a point guard that has the ability or skills to crash the boards.
Like what Coach Tim Cone said in one of his post game interviews, the most winningest coach compared Thompson to Johnny Abarrientos. He said that this guy has the “Nose for the ball”. Thompson has the ability to know where the ball will go, he knows where to position himself inside the paint to get the rebounds and he knows where his team mates are even without having direct vision on where his team mates are specifically positioned.
The former NCAA MVP played a vital part in the Ginebra’s rotation in terms of assists and that’s one of the factors why Ginebra has been executing the complex triangle offense perfectly. Listed as 5’11”, he’s one of the guards that every team has been looking after every game as he knows how to score, dish passes and even out rebound even the tallest player in the game.
Known as the triple double machine back in the NCAA days, this guy has proved himself to be one of the all around players in the league and definitely one of the reasons why Ginebra is in the finals this conference and like what Cone said, this guy is so incredibly unselfish that they needed to force him to shoot and score in a game which perfectly worked in their game against the San Miguel Beermen in game 5 of the semi finals series that they eventually won with an explosive performance of this Perpetual Help standout.
Game 1 slip in the hands of Ginebra via OT loss to Meralco. Here are the 3 important things for them to tie the series.
1. Defense: Defense is one of the best weapon of Ginebra coming into game 1. Ranked number 1 in that category in the playoffs. That defense was not there in game 1, allowing Meralco to score 114 points. If they want to manage to tie the series, they need to tighten up their D.
2. Justin Brownlee: Argueably one of the best import in the conference. But it was not evident in game 1 as he was outplayed by Allen Durham. Brownlee managed to score 17 points only, a far cry of his average. He needs to be aggressive attacking and defending Allen Durham.
3. Scottie Thompson: The priced rookie from Digos, Davao del Norte and the hero of their Game 5 win against SMB. This kid should stay aggressive offensively and defensively if they want to win Game 2.
Since Scottie Thompson entered the professional league, we rarely see him score or just concentrate in contributing on the points production for Barangay Ginebra but their game 5 performance against SMB which they won with a huge lead was the first time that this rookie point guard scored more than 20 points who usually just dominates the boards and assists.
“We were mostly concern about Scottie, he was so incredibly unselfish that really you have to force him to shoot.” Tim Cone stressed in the post game interview after their win against SMB. “First play of the game we decided to play for him to come out and take that first shot bahala na I don’t care, you shoot it if you miss you just shoot it and when I said that the whole room kinda laughed” This move of Cone to start the game simply made a huge difference in their match with SMB.
“The point is we wanted him to come out and be aggressive he went out and took that shot and then he missed it so we were like uh-oh but then he just got on fire and I think he took five of our first six shots that kinda said to myself Yes! the message was sent to Scottie I think we have a shot in this game I feel like that we have a shot.” After hitting 5 of their first field goals in the first quarter, Ginebra made a huge run afterwards though SMB succeeded in trying to catch up, Ginebra still continued and played their best to get the win.
“Sol hits first 3 threes. It became contagious its nice it was such a redemptive win we got redemption on this game.” the most successful coach in the league said.
We had a chance to have a short interview with Scottie Thompson after their disappointing loss against the San Miguel Beermen. Scottie Thompson who usually deliver goods for the crowd favorite had a hard time finding a crack in the SMB defense as he tried to help and get the win for the Ginebra fans. 22,000 gate attendance was recorded on this game 4 which Ginebra lost against SMB with a huge 29 points deficit.
“Nagkulang kami sa energy, at siguro sa chemistry.” Thompson said when we asked him what probably cause their huge loss. “Confidence din and chemistry talaga nawalan kami ng chemistry tapos inabot pa ng malas.”
We also asked for his message to the Ginebra fans for the upcoming game 5 decider match between their sister team. “Sa mga Ginebra Fans, sana patuloy nyo kaming suportahan manalo o matalo.” Sounded sorry about the loss I front of a huge supporters in the araneta coliseum.
“Pero wag kayo mag alala kahit anong mangyari lalaban at lalaban kami.” Scottie promised the Ginebra Community that they will go all out just to have this game 5 win for the fans who unconditionally supports the whole team throughout the years.
Scottie Thompson also known as the “Triple Double Machine” way back in college made a mark on the PBA history by listing double digits in three stats categories. This is the first time that a rookie made this kind of production. Johnny Abarrientos is the first guard to have this kind of productivity under the same coach Tim Cone in 1993.
“Its really rare for Scottie to score that much cause he usually just passes and rebounds its really surprising for me.” Cone said in the post game interview appreciating the effort of his rookie in being the reason why they had this game won.
“Our assists stats looks good for us and you gotta give credit to Scottie, he has really brought us that sense of moving the ball for us,LA also and Justin and Sol and Joe they’ve been passing the ball really well and it became contagious and its a great disease for us, passing disease.” The most successful coach in the league is proud to say that the team has been running a perfect kind of offense where they try to find the best open man for a shot but is not confident that they will be in the finals yet as he needs to focus on their upcoming game this Sunday which might lead them to think about the finals. Scottie Thompson Scored 12 points and listed 10 rebounds with 10 assists. The Barangay Ginebra Coach said that this triple double performance of Scottie Thompson will definitely not be the last.
Everyone’s excited about the upcoming PBA All Star Weekend, the most thrilling thing about it is it will be held in Manila on August at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. PBA stars like, James Yap, Mark Caguioa, Junmar Fajardo and Greg Slaughter will be playing in front of the manila crowd in this annual event.
What’s unusual? A rookie from the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel squad was voted to be part of this all star exhibition game between the North and the South All stars along side the biggest names in the PBA. Scottie thompson is that guy and with the performance he has been showcasing for the gin kings’ games, the ginebra fans are convinced that this guydeserves a spot in this years All Star Game. The player himself could not believe he’ll be part of it as he knew he’s just a new guy in the league and he has less expecations of it. But never the less, this event will surely start to ignite those fan base and will help out the PBA to have more followers who will consistently support the professional league. This said event is scheduled to commence on August 5 and 7.
With the takeover of CTC as head coach of the team this season, the Barangay Ginebra are expected
to end their eight year title drought. Unfortunately, the team failed to do so in the AFC after the
controversial loss and quarterfinal exit against the GlobalPort Batang Pier. But they still have 2 conferences to lived up the expectations or else, another failed season. Let us examine what are they
need to do to finally take home the trophy this season.
1. MORE PLAYING TIME for the YOUNG GUNS
a. Scottie Thompson – The very promising rookie out of the Perpetual Help Atlas had make an impression last conference. He is an all around player and is a very energetic player. He could be the new spark off the bench for Ginebra. Scottie will fill the statsheet every game if given a chance. Based on P.E.R., Thompson is a very efficient player.
b. Nico Salva – Salva had a great collegiate career from Ateneo and we know what he can do inside the court if given a chance. CTC can develop this guy into something special. He can provide some shooting and scoring for the team. He could be the today’s Sunday Salvacion or Mark Macapagal for Ginebra.
2. ACQUIRE a DEADLY SHOOTER and WING DEFENDER
This is what I think the missing piece in Barangay Ginebra’s title quest. Chris Ellis hasn’t shown improvement on his offensive game. And I think its time for them to part with him. They can trade him for the likes of Rey Guevarra, Anthony Semerad or Ronald Pascual plus future picks.
3. CONSISTENCY for JAPETH AGUILAR
Greg Slaughter is the only consistent contributor in Barangay Ginebra bigs and Japeth Aguilar should be the other one. If he will only be consistent together with Slaughter, they will be a force to reckon with every night. Japeth needs to do something with his game or else he would end up playing for another team.
4. SOL MERCADO should be the “SIXTH MAN”
Sol Mercado is a combo guard so he can be the reliever of either L.A. Tenorio or Mark Caguioa. I see him as a great team leader that could guide this team to the championship. You can see the “Never Say Die” spirit on him. If he can average atleast 13 points and 5 assists a game off the bench, Ginebra will be back to the Finals.
5. JOE DEVANCE and JERVY CRUZ should be the “TWIN TOWER’S RELIEVER”
Joe Devance and Jervy Cruz need to provide some scoring off the bench. They should be the reliever of Japeth Aguilar and Greg Slaughter. If this two will be consistent and will contribute every game together with Slaughter and Aguilar, Ginebra would be unstoppable.
“GILAS-ables” is a series of articles that will discuss different players who could make a case for joining the Gilas pool. This series will include Filipinos and Fil-foreign players plying their trade in different leagues, including the US NCAA and the PBA.
In the third article in this series, we’ll talk about a player whose inclusion was made more plausible by the entry of another, much more hyped young player into the Gilas pool.
PLAYER INFO
Name: Thompson, Earl Scottie
Team: Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings
Height: 6’ 1”
Weight: 180 lbs
College: University of Perpetual Help
PBA STATS
Career:
4.9 points per game, 2.8 rebounds per game, 2.7 assists per game, .1.4 turnovers per game
OTHER NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS
SEA GAMES GOLD MEDALIST (2015)
NCAA MVP (2014)
WHY HE SHOULD BE IN THE GILAS POOL
Again, if you look at the numbers, there is no way that Scottie Thompson would be considered for a spot in the Gilas. After all, 5 points, 3 assists and 3 rebounds are barely even PBA starter numbers, much less numbers of one of the 12 best Filipino players available.
But with college phenom Kiefer Ravena joining the Gilas pool, suddenly, a door has been opened for Thompson to make a similar mark. And that’s because when you think about Thompson’s attributes with regards to Gilas’ needs, the story becomes very interesting.
How? Let’s take a look.
Currently entrenched in the Gilas starting point guard spot is the acknowledged best point guard in Asia, Jayson Castro. Castro is a muscular, cat-quick guard who is equally dangerous shooting the long ball and penetrating inside. The other candidates for the PG spots are veteran LA Tenorio and rising star Terence Romeo.
LA Tenorio is a masterful court general but is woefully undersized and lacks a defensive presence. Terence Romeo is a tweener, whose size and training puts him at the PG spot but whose talent and inclination make him more suited as a shooting guard.
And that’s where Scottie Thompson has the advantage. Although a deadly scorer with the Perpetual Help Altas, Thompson has proven time and again that he is more than that. At a hefty 6’1”, he’s as much a playmaker and ball distributor as he is a willing rebounder and defender.And with players like Andray Blatche, Junemar Fajardo, Greg Slaughter, Japeth Aguilar and Jeff Chan potentially on the team, scoring will never be a problem but someone needs to make sure each of them get their touches at just the right time and spots.
Thompson has also exhibited a gigantic fighting heart, as he has led the Gin Kings in a couple of heart thumping comeback wins, ironically, with Tenorio cheering from the sidelines. More importantly, he did it but making sure the Ginebra machine buckled down on defense and revved up on offense.
Ironically, the players that pose the greatest stumbling blocks to Thompson’s inclusion aren’t point guards either, but three combo guards with point guard skills. First and foremost is the Lakers’ Jordan Clarkson, who not only should be a lock at the shooting guard position but may also be the best point guard on the team. Another is Rain Or Shine’s Paul Lee, who is basically who Thompson will be in about 3-4 more years. And the third is the aforementioned Kiefer Ravena, who is the superior talent but is also a tweener, like Romeo, and whose greatest skill is scoring, something Gilas does not need.
That being said, Thompson would need to help lead Barangay Ginebra into a historic year before he would be considered for a spot in Gilas. But if they can open the door for Ravena, who has yet to play a PBA game, they can open that same door to a heady court who may provide the answer to a crucial Gilas need.
The Araneta Coliseum got its roar peaked as the Manila Clasico kicked in the PBA’s 41st season. The barangay ginebra trailed more than 20 points with the highest deficit of 31 points in their 1st meeting against the Star Hotshots.
The ginebra squad struggled to convert their attempts into gold in their debut but as the rookie mr. Triple Double Earl Scottie Thompson, make his presence felt by providing unselfish plays and high percentage shots, the ginebra crowd became outstanding as they celebrate the effort and fighting spirit of this rookie who served as the new spark in the late run of the team. The Mighty Scottie ignites the scoring drought of ginebra in the late part of the game by dishing multiple assists and plays. Though the ginebra had their first loss in the PBA’s new season, the fans have never felt so good to see their team play after a long time off the season and having a new hope thru the team’s newly acquired gold Earl Scottie Thompson.
