Barroca sees teammate Simon in Ginebra rookie Thompson

MANILA, Philippines – Star’s ace playmaker Mark Barroca likens Barangay Ginebra rookie Scottie Thompson’s playing style to Hotshots shooting guard Peter June Simon after battling with the Perpetual Help standout during the Hotshots’ 86-78 win over the Kings on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

In his first game as a pro, the young Ginebra freshman guard tallied five points, six assists, three rebounds and two steals in a backup job at the point that made him the trending topic at the social micro-blogging site Twitter.

“Para siyang (Thompson) si PJ Simon. Combo guard siya, magaling mamasa kaya humabol pa sila (Kings) nun sa fourth quarter,” Barroca said when reached by Philstar.com on Monday.

The six-foot Thompson, who hails from Digos City, just over an hour’s drive from Simon’s hometown of Makilala, North Cotabato, issued two nifty assists in the fourth quarter that drew oohs and ahhs from his Ginebra teammates and fans alike.

One instance saw Thompson dribble the length of the court, then issued a no-look pass to Japeth Aguilar, who scored inside while drawing a foul from Star’s James Yap.

Another play had the 22-year-old former NCAA Most Valuable Player blowing past Barroca, before dropping a quick pass inside to Greg Slaughter for a rim-rattling slam dunk.

Barroca said Thompson has yet to get a good grasp of Cone’s patented triangle offense, the same system the American used successfully when he led Star to five championships in his four-year coaching stint.

But the former Far Eastern University guard said Thompson and even the entire Ginebra squad will be hard to beat once they learn to play the “triangle”.

“Hindi pa niya naitakbo yung triangle kahapon saka di pa nila nakuha gaano yung triangle. Pero grabe yung Ginebra dahil dominated nila talaga ang loob,” added the 2014 Philippine Cup Finals MVP.

Star, which led by 20 points at halftime, dominated Ginebra all the way to spoil Cone’s coaching debut with the Kings.

The Hotshots improved to 1-1, rewarding Jason Webb hi first victory as a coach after opening the season with a 96-87 defeat to the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.