It's no secret Scottie Thompson has a knack for grabbing rebounds.
The 6-foot-1 Thompson has been a rebounding machine for Barangay Ginebra. More often than not, he gets more rebounds than the team's Twin Towers, Greg Slaughter, and Japeth Aguilar.
Thompson on Monday against Rain or Shine collected 10 rebounds to go with his six points and three steals. The 7-foot Slaughter had six rebounds.
Thompson's signature play of the series-clinching 96-94 win over Rain or Shine was a ball secured by swooping in seemingly from out of nowhere to snatch the rebound from import Reggie Johnson, drawing cheers from the predominantly Ginebra crowd.
The sight of Thompson hauling rebounds away from the league's behemoths still leaves Ginebra coach Tim Cone in awe.
"It seemed like he was grabbing everything and jumping over everybody, jumping over Johnson, jumping over [Raymond] Almazan. I mean, my gosh, getting that offensive rebound. He makes me speechless, he really does," said Cone.
His rebounds were so valuable Cone even thinks he should have earned the Best Player of the Game honors.
"Those were the plays of the game. ... Joe played great, but I thought Scottie was gonna get the Player of the Game just because of the rebounds he got, because they were all super clutch," Cone said. "And he did not only deny [Johnson] the rebound, but he denied the easy putback. So he just leaves me speechless some times. His timing is otherworldly."
Thompson said he is just trying to be consistently aggressive. "Coach told us to be the aggressor," Thompson said in Filipino. "That's what I really do. That's what I really do to help the team."
He will be tested when Ginebra tackles the reigning champion San Miguel Beermen in the finals starting Friday. With Aguilar still recovering from an injury, Thompson is expected to take his rebounding role to another level against reigning four-time MVP June Mar Fajardo and Renaldo Balkman.
"But we'll still work as a team. I don't know what coach's game plan is But we're ready for anything. San Miguel is a very strong team but I think we will be complete come Game 1," Thompson said.