'Quiet' Thompson key to Ginebra's title run, says Cone
MANILA, Philippines — Coach Tim Cone and the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings reclaimed the PBA Governor's Cup title after beating the Meralco Bolts, 105-93, in Game Five of the finals yesterday.
Justin Brownlee and Stanley Pringle consistently came out on offense for the Kings throughout the series, while also getting help on both sides of the floor from Finals MVP Japeth Aguilar.
But Cone was quick to laud another Gin King, Scottie Thompson, with his seemingly more quiet but nonetheless effective effort on the floor.
"I could go down the list of our guys, of who played well... as big as the numbers Justin made and Stanley made, I thought Scottie's quiet numbers were really the key to us winning," Cone said in the post-game press conference on Friday.
"If I had to pick a second MVP, I would've picked Scottie. He kinda changed the series around in Game 3 with his defense against Newsome and carried it all the way through," Cone added.
Thompson finished Game Five with 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists, but Cone was more impressed with his contributions that didn't show up on the stat sheet.
"Just the little things, the rebounding, the getting down on the break, the passes, being at the right place at the right time, all that stuff doesn't show up in the stats but they add so much to the overall 48-minute game that you play," Cone said.
"I thought Scottie was absolutely outstanding in this series and really proved why he is one of the elite players in the PBA," he added.
Thompson is now a four-time PBA champion with Barangay Ginebra.
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