Scottie Thompson (with ball) tormented HongKong the last time theymet as he helped Gilas to a 94-64 win. —FIBA PHOTO
A healthy Scottie Thompson should bode well for Gilas Pilipinas when it plunges back into action this Thursday in the second window of the Fiba Asia Cup Qualifiers.
“Scottie’s presence moves everybody back into their roles. And now, you have that tremendous energy guy,” national coach Tim Cone said.
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After missing the Olympic Qualifiers in Latvia due to a nagging back problem, the do-it-all playmaker is set for another National Five stint when the Philippines takes on New Zealand in a battle of unbeaten teams at Mall of Asia Arena.
Thompson, a Cone guy at Barangay Ginebra and a former MVP in the PBA, allows the likes of Chris Newsome and Dwight Ramos to play their natural positions—something that they weren’t able to do to the hilt when Gilas tried to secure an Olympic berth in Riga back in July.
The Philippines (2-0 win-loss) has been leading the continental meet in several statistical departments through the first window held last February, among them points per game (100), field goal percentage (51%), and assists per night (31.5). Cone’s charges are also hands down the most efficient in the tournament with a rating of 147.5.
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And there’s no denying that much of that has been possible because of Thompson’s fine playmaking as he also leads Gilas with nine assists a night.
But for Cone, Thompson’s real worth lies in the defensive value he brings to the Gilas backcourt, which includes CJ Perez.
Complete backcourt
“Scottie’s got great size for a point guard. He can defend, and New(some) can defend and Dwight can defend. We’ve got a really good defensive backcourt. And CJ is really our most athletic defender as well,” he said.
“I think we have a tendency to look at ‘Wow, this guy’s a really good player because he can shoot, he can do this, or he can do that.’ But our mindset is you’ve got to be a two-way player. And frankly, that starts with the defense.”
That now-complete backcourt will be put to a stringent test when the World No. 34 Filipinos battle the 22nd-ranked Tall Blacks (also 2-0), who will be having the battle-hardened Corey Webster as skipper.
Gilas has broken its Inspire camp and has now moved its preparations to Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, where they will also go up against a Hong Kong side they handily beat back in the summer.
The Nationals pulled out a 96-82 victory over Meralco in its lone tuneup match for this Fiba window. The 7-foot-3 Kai Sotto, who was coming off concussion protocols by his B.League team, led the way for the squad in that Monday friendly in Laguna that left a good impression on Bolts coach Luigi Trillo.
“Their starters played well particularly Justin (Brownlee), Dwight Ramos and Kai. They led by as (many) as 16,” Trillo told the Inquirer. “We tied it twice. The new guys struggled a bit but that was expected. Overall they looked impressive and on the right track.
“They’re coming along. They can beat New Zealand if they put their minds to it,” he went on.
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A sweep of the two homestands will steer Gilas away from complications and gain guaranteed passage into the main tournament that will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in August next year.