COACH Tim Cone described it as amazing.
Scottie Thompson referred to it as ‘buwis-buhay.’
The Barangay Ginebra guard pulled off one of the critical plays late in Game 2 when he soared high for an offensive rebound that helped douse a Meralco rally and enabled the reigning champions to seal a 99-93 victory that evened their PBA Governors Cup Finals at one-win apiece.
The rebound was one of the 12 that Thompson had in Game Two - but it was special, Cone said, since it lifted the Kings and electrified the crowd.
“Those solitary plays, they only showed up for one offensive rebound in the box scores. But it means so much more,” said the Ginebra coach, who admitted having the perfect angle to see Thompson pull down that big rebound.
Scottie lifts the whole team
"Those are the kind of plays that win games," added Cone. "Scottie lifts the whole team and the crowd when he gets those kinds of rebounds.”
Thompson flashed a grin when told about how Cone praised him for that highlight play which came with 5:07 to play and the Kings holding on to a shaky 91-86 lead.
The 6-foot-1 Thompson towered to grab the ball from Meralco’s Cliff Hodge and import Tony Bishop, drawing oohs from the crowd of 12,248 in attendance at the Mall of Arena Friday night.
“Wala na tinalon ko na lang. Buwis buhay na,” said Thompson about the play. “Nag-momentum sila. E, lagi silang nakakakuha ng offensive rebound. Sakto natapat sa ulo ko kaya tinalon ko na lang. Napadapa pa nga yata ako.”
Thompson, who finished with a triple-double in a losing cause in Game 1, finished with 16 points and two assists this time.
But that one play dampened the momentum of the rallying Bolts and allowed the Kings to steady the ship and get back on the best-of-seven series.
Thompson, a top contender for the Best Player of the Conference award, said Cone stressed the need for the Kings to outrebound the Bolts.
“Yun ang pino-point out ni coach Tim especially [against] Meralco, gusto nilang ipanalo yung rebound kasi assessment namin kung sino talaga ang lamang sa rebound mostly siya talaga yung nakakuha ng panalo,” he said.
The reigning champions did win the battle of the boards, 49-41.
“It just truly amazes me. But that’s Scottie,” added Cone. “We’ll just call it Scottie things now. He does Scottie things. Nobody else can do it, but he does it.”
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