Thompson says conversation with Ginebra governor Alfrancis Chua helped him end personal slump

MANILA, Philippines -- Scottie Thompson finally broke through his scoring slump and delivered big for Barangay Ginebra in a must-win Game 4 of the PBA Philippine Cup semis against the Meralco Bolts on Friday night.

Ginebra tied the best-of-seven series at two games apiece after a 90-71 demolition at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

There, Thompson finally breached double-digit scoring with 15 points to go with five rebounds. He made 6-of-7 field goals, including all three of his 3-pointers.

And he did so despite playing his least number of minutes this series as he saw the court in just 26 minutes.

Prior to Game 4, the former Most Valuable Player made 7-of-32 field goal attempts in the first three contests of the semis.

After Friday's game, Thompson said he received words of encouragement from Ginebra governor Alfrancis Chua himself.

“[On Thursday morning] Before practice, Boss Al called me up. He talked to me, and he gave me motivation,” Thompson told reporters after the game.

“He reminded me how I started and who I am. Coming from Boss Al, it was different. It game me a boost of confidence to show up today,” he added.

“Needed that. It was a game-changer.”

Asked about his breakout game, the guard said that everybody in the team broke out of a slump.

“Breakout not just for me, but this is a breakout game for us as a team. Everybody contributed well,” he stressed.

“That is what we want, to grab a spark in today’s series and to shake this series up. Their confidence is very high, their morale is very high. Good thing we are able to tie it up,” he said.

Ginebra head coach Tim Cone, for his part, acknowledged that the “unselfish” Thompson struggled “a little bit” the past few games, but now, he is back on track.

“The thing with Scottie, he just has to stay aggressive. He’s such an unselfish guy, he has the tendency to overpass sometimes. We need him to take shots. Sometimes, he overpasses so much that the one time he decides to take a shot, there is a lot of pressure on it because he hasn’t taken very many,” the coach unedrscored.

“You take 10 shots, one shot of those 10, there’s not very much pressure. If you shoot one shot, that’s all you shoot, there’s more pressure on that shot. It was good to see Scottie break out,” he added.

The two teams will try to win the pivotal Game 5 on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.