Cone ecstatic to have ‘great equalizer’ Thompson back for Gilas

MANILA, Philippines — Having Scottie Thompson back for the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers will be a huge boost for Gilas Pilipinas, head coach Tim Cone said, after the playmaker missed the previous tour of duty for the Philippines due to an injury. 

Thompson missed the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in July due to a bulging disk. 

This time around, the point guard will be present for the Philippines’ November window, where Gilas will take on New Zealand on November 21 and Hong Kong on November 24.

During Wednesday’s press conference, Cone told reporters that Thompson “kind of equalizes everything” for the squad.

His absence in the OQT, the mentor stressed, pushed other players to play in roles other than their best ones.

“[Chris Newsome] is really our in-game stopper and we want him to really lock into that role. So when we went to the OQT, you know, he was still that stopper but he had so much more that he had to worry about in terms of, you know, handling the ball,” he said.

“And then Dwight [Ramos] was played out of position because he had to be the off-guard or the secondary ball handler and the back-up point guard,” he added. 

“And now Scottie's presence kind of moves everybody back into their roles and you have that tremendous energy guy.”

During the first window of the qualifiers back in February, Thompson averaged just 3.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game, but dished out 9.0 assists per game. 

“You can watch Scottie on video as much as you want, but until you actually get on the floor and play against him, you don't realize all the stuff that he's doing out there. And that's always a surprise for the other team,” Cone said. 

“And so Scottie back allows New to get back into his role, maybe come off the bench and be our primary stopper. And then Dwight can really focus on being that off guard or small forward player, which is what he's really, really good at. And he can get back to doing what he's really good at,” he added. 

Aside from this, Thompson’s return will also give Gilas’ backcourt a great one-two defensive punch. 

“Scottie's got great size for a point guard. He can defend and New can defend and Dwight can defend. We've got a really good defensive backcourt. And CJ [Perez] is really our most athletic defender as well,” Cone stressed.

“So, you know, as much as we look at these guys, 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, he can do that, do this. But our mindset is you've got to be a two-way player, you know. And frankly, you've got to start with the defense. And then what you give as offense is great,” he added.

“And so that's our mindset. And that's why Scottie and New and Dwight fit that mindset so well, so much for us. And again, if you get a different coach, you'll have different ideas. But this is the one we go with at this point.” 

Gilas’ second window games will both be played at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.