Fresh off winning his second career Best Player of the Conference (BPC), the reigning league MVP was fixated solely on the golden opportunity the Gin Kings squandered, as Bay Area played without both their imports Andrew Nicholson and Myles Powell – now both on the shelf with foot injuries.
“This game is really for them,” he said in Filipino. “They had a great game plan and credit goes to them. We know they’re a really tough team.”
“We expected that their locals would be more aggressive, but we got outworked, and I think we also relaxed a bit. I think it’s good that this already happened to us while it’s not yet Game 7. We still have time to adjust and figure out what we need to do in the next game.”
Prior to Game 4, both Thompson and star running mate Justin Brownlee were all smiles after they swept the BPC and Best Import awards, respectively, in front of 17,236 fans at the Mall of Asia Arena mostly supporting the ever-popular Gin Kings.
Thompson won in a landslide against teammate Jamie Malonzo, NorthPort’s Robert Bolick, San Miguel’s CJ Perez, and NLEX’s Don Trollano after averaging 12.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.6 steals.
At the end of the night, however, their coronation already felt like a distant memory.
“I felt great when we were awarded, but right now, I just have mixed emotions,” he continued. “The main goal is still the championship. Individual achievements are great, but it would be greater if we get the championship at the same time.”
“The awarding is just a quick stretch of happiness. We have to move on again.”
Thompson can erase the pain of Game 4’s loss with a bounce-back win for the 3-2 lead on Sunday, January 8, still at the Mall of Asia Arena.
