STUCK at home at the height of the pandemic in 2020, Scottie Thompson revealed his home gym setup and his lower-body workout to jump higher – which we wrote a story of here.
“Bumili talaga ako ng workout equipment kasi ito yung trabaho ko eh,” the Barangay Ginebra superstar said in his recent Spin Zoom In guesting. “Kailangan mo rin mag-invest para sa sarili mo, to make yourself physically fit at healthy, at talagang kundisyon.”
“Kasi ang pinakamasarap na hard work ay yung walang nakakakita sa’yo. Yung mga time na walang tumitingin sa’yo,” he added.
Scottie Thompson on secret to rebounding
But his unseen extra work on his jumping ability is one thing. There’s another factor to his trademark rebounding prowess that makes him always seem to be in the right place and at the right time for those game-changing offensive rebounds.
“I think positioning,” Thompson said. “Maganda yung position mo lagi every time kumuha ka ng rebound. Ako kasi from outside, pag talbog ng bola, tinitingnan ko yung mga players na nasa inside and kung saan yung magandang spot, dun ko pinupuntahan.”
“So positioning talaga. Hindi pataasan ng talon, hindi pagulangan,” the newly minted PBA MVP added.

Thompson’s unique qualities have enabled him to carve out a name as not just one of the best-rebounding guards in the league, but simply one of the country’s top rebounders.
In Season 46, he averaged a career-high-tying nine rebounds, including three on the offensive end per outing in 33 games.
Zooming into the last Governors’ Cup eliminations, Thompson hauled down 9.45 boards per game – remarkably the second-best rebounding local behind only the 6-foot-10 June Mar Fajardo, who had 11.2 a contest.
The 6-foot-1 Thompson even outrebounded some imports like Jamel Artis (8.9) and McKenzie Moore (8.3) and NorthPort local big men in Greg Slaughter (9.3), Arwind Santos (8.8), and Jamie Malonzo (8.3).
He may have elite athleticism, but Thompson insists it’s all about hard work as he also paid tribute to the Ginebra trainers for keeping him in position to be a great rebounder.
“Yung explosiveness, wino-work out ko talaga yun sa practice,” Thompson said. “Talagang credit din sa training staff namin sa pag-kundisyon sa amin. Pero yung mga rebound na nakukuha ko, syempre through hard work na lang din at hustle talaga eh. Kung saan yung bola, nakikisali lang ako – saling-pusa lang.”
“Lagi kong sinasabi na gift of God yung mga ganung nagkakaroon ako ng nose for the ball – kung saan yung bola, parang nababasa ko siya. Siguro isa sa gift ni God yun sa’kin,” he concluded.
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