Sonny Thoss turns back clock when Aces needed him most

MANILA, Philippines—A decade ago, Sonny Thoss was considered as one of the best big men in the PBA commanding the post as if he was the only center in the league.

Age has since caught up to the 12-time All-Star and he settled for being the second fiddle in the post as power forward Vic Manuel rose to prominence in the 2015-16 PBA season.

With Manuel out in the 2019 PBA Philippine Cup, it was up to Thoss to patrol the middle as if it was 2007, but that didn’t faze the 37-year-old as he showed some vintage class against NLEX in the do-or-die game for a spot in the playoffs.

Thoss cooked the Road Warriors to the tune of 21 points, on 10-of-14 shooting, with five rebounds, one steal, and one block in the Aces’ 88-80 win Friday at Mall of Asia Arena.

“I was just trying to be aggressive, it’s working my way at the moment,” said Thoss who averaged 8.9 points and 5.4 rebounds before the game against NLEX. “My scoring, I think I got lucky with my shots going in.”

Alaska head coach Alex Compton joked that they’ve found the Fountain of Youth and bottled its contents to give to Thoss during timeouts.

“Sonny’ been awesome this conference, we’ve actually found what Ponce De Leon was looking for in Florida—the Fountain of Youth—so we bottled it, gave it to Sonny and that’s what he’s been drinking in practice,” said Compton whose Aces will next face first seed Phoenix in the quarterfinals.

“He’s invigorated, so he’s turned back the clock this conference about 10 years, he’s been great, he’s been active, he’s been asserting himself,” added Compton.

Thoss, a two-time PBA Mythical First Team member and the 2013 Philippine Cup Finals MVP, said that he’s trying to maintain his health and keeping his focus on making his knees and back better.

“I’m grateful to the medical staff, they’ve been working with me, trying to get my knees and back better. I guess that’s been helping a lot so credit to them,” said Thoss.