Gilas’ Scottie Thompson offers no excuse after subpar Fiba World Cup showing

Gilas Pilipinas’ Scottie Thompson during a game against China in the Fiba World Cup. -MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Scottie Thompson said his previous injury had nothing to do with his underwhelming performance in the Fiba World Cup 2023.

Thompson provided quality 20 minutes with four points, four rebounds, and four assists in Gilas Pilipinas’ 96-75 win over China to end their home World Cup stint in high spirits on Saturday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The reigning PBA Most Valuable Player only posted an average of 1.8 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 12.5 minutes in five games, where Gilas only won its last match.

But Thompson insisted that the metacarpal fracture in his right hand he sustained during Gilas’ camp in Lithuania was not the reason for his subpar showing in the World Cup.

“Well, I’m not making any excuses because this is the World Cup. I know if I’m affected by it or not, I can’t use my injury as an excuse if my performance is bad. That’s what it is. Whatever happened now is not because I’m coming off an injury,” Thompson told reporters in Filipino.

The Barangay Ginebra star’s numbers dipped after a decent from the Asian qualifiers, where he normed 6.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.8 assists in six games, dipped in his World Cup debut.

But Thompson remained pleased after winning their final game thanks to Jordan Clarkson’s 34-point explosion.

“We struggled from the start but coming to this game, every time we’re positive. We just have to keep fighting until we get a win. Fortunately for us, we were able to win one as a team,” said Thompson.

“Jordan really led us to victory and he really kept a positive outlook. We needed to match his aggressiveness. He wanted to win so bad and we wanted to win as bad as he wanted to.”

Gilas will compete in the Asian Games starting on September 23 in China but Thompson is leaving it to the decision of the federation if he gets another call-up.

“We still don’t know our situation right now so let’s see. I think it’s better for us to rest first,” Thompson said. “It depends. For now, we still don’t know what’s going to happen. We don’t know what SBP’s next program will be so it depends on the situation.”