Thompson’s ‘Scottie Things’ for Gilas draw praise from Tim Cone

Gilas Pilipinas’ Scottie Thompson and Kai Sotto during a game vs Jordan in the Fiba World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers at Mall of Asia Arena. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines–Scottie Thompson’s defensive effort served as one of the subplots in Gilas Pilipinas’ 82-81 overtime victory over Jordan in the Fiba World Cup 2026 Asian Qualifiers on Friday at Mall of Asia Arena.

While his offensive numbers in his first game back with the national team could be seen as an eyesore after scoring just one point, Thompson put up six rebounds and three assists in almost 29 minutes.

But what did not reflect in the stat sheet was the way Thompson made an effort to defend Jordan’s naturalized player Jalen Harris and Freddie Ibrahim, something that was not lost on coach Tim Cone.

“People give Scottie a hard time because he’s not a shooter, he’s not a true point guard, he’s gonna make a turnover here and there. But they dismissed all the stuff that he does,” Cone said of his long-time Barangay Ginebra star.

“As we know in the PBA, we call him ‘Scottie Things.’ He does all the ‘Scottie Things.’ He gets the rebounds, he gets the loose balls, he defends, he knows how to get teams into execution and he will make big shots and get to the rim when he needs to. But he relies on his teammates a lot to make shots.”

Gilas Pilipinas’ Scottie Thompson during a game vs Jordan in the Fiba World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers at Mall of Asia Arena. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

Thompson almost saw his effort become an afterthought when he was called for a five-second violation while trying to inbound the ball. But Kai Sotto bailed him out when he blocked Abdullah Olajuwon’s shot before time expired.

Thompson returned to Gilas duties after missing the third window due to a hamstring injury. Before this window, he had missed Ginebra’s first five games of the Governors’ Cup before suiting up against Meralco.

He was one of three returnees for this window, including two of the main stars in the win in Sotto and CJ Perez, who, like Thompson, entered the window coming off an injury.

“He came off a really bad hamstring injury and it took a while for him to recover,” said Cone. “Same with CJ, they’re both coming off injuries and both we’re really crucial to our success tonight.”