AS one of the PBA’s top lockdown perimeter defenders today, Scottie Thompson also had his share of defensive assignments who always gives him a difficult time whenever they meet on the court.
Two former Barangay Ginebra teammates, two from San Miguel Beer, and a TNT playmaker once considered as the best in Asia make up the list of the 33-year-old Thompson’s five toughest players to guard.
SPIN COVER: How kid from faraway Digos became a King
For the Barangay Ginebra star, Jayson Castro is the toughest of them all.
“Kuya Jayson, number one. Ang sinasabi ko lagi na pinakamahirap bantayan, kasi ako naabutan ko yung prime ni Kuya Jayson,” said Thompson in the latest series of SPIN COVER.
Castro, 40, was acknowledged as a two-time Best Point Guard of Asia during his stint with the Gilas Pilipinas program.
A five-time winner of the Best Player of the Conference award, the veteran guard from Bacolor, Pampanga is one of the PBA’S 50 Greatest Players of all time with 10 championships and three Finals MVPs won with TNT.
A nine-time All-Star, the player dubbed as ‘The Blur’ is also a five-time Mythical First Team member, and the scoring champion in 2014, who reached the 10,000-point milestone in Season 50.
One-time Ginebra teammates Mark Caguioa and Stanley Pringle are likewise mentioned by Thompson as part of his personal list.
“Si Kuya Mark Caguioa, kasi nung nagpa-practice kami dati, talagang ang hirap niyang bantanyan,” admitted the University of Perpetual Help standout. “Scorer talaga.”
The now retired 46-year-old Caguioa was the 2012 MVP, 2001 Rookie of the Year, and joined Castro among the 50 Greatest Players in PBA history. He won all his nine championships with Ginebra and was acknowledged as the face of the franchise - a label he eventually passed on to Thompson.
A three-time BPC winner, three-time scoring champion, three-time Mythical First Team member, and 13-time All-Star, Caguioa retired in 2020 after played his entire career with the Kings.
“Stanley Pringle nung time niya rin na nasa GlobalPort pa siya, sobra ring hirap bantayan,” said Thompson of the prolific Rain or Shine Fil-Am guard, who was his teammate at Ginebra from 2019-24.
The 39-year-old San Diego, California native won all his four championships with the Kings. He was the 2020 Philippine BPC winner, Rookie of the Year in 2015, a two-time Mythical First Team, a seven-time All-Star, and the 2018 scoring champion who once lighted up the scoreboard for 50 points during one game with NorthPort.
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From San Miguel, Thompson lists his Gilas Pilipinas teammate CJ Perez.
“Kasi ang daming galaw, hindi mo alam kung ano ang gagawin niya lagi every possession,” he said of the 32-year-old three-time scoring champion.
Perez was the 2019 Rookie of the Year, won four championships with the Beermen, a Finals MVP and Best Player of the Conference, a four-time Mythical First Team, and three-time All-Star.
And the other Beerman in Thompson’s list is surprisingly, someone who doesn't play the same position as his.
“Si June Mar Fajardo kahit hindi ko binabantayan yun, kapag tumulong kami, kahit lima pa kami, sobra talagang hirap pigilan,” said the Ginebra guard of the only nine-time MVP in the 50-year history of the PBA.
The 36-year-old Fajardo is always in the conversation for the league’s Greatest Of All Time debate. He is a 12-time champion, 13-time recipient of the BPC award, 10-time Mythical First Team, eight-time All-Defensive Team member, Defensive Player of the Year, 10-time All-Star, and of course, a part of the 50 Greatest Players list.
For the SPIN Cover interview, watch this:
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