Thompson clutch as Ginebra completes Christmas Day comeback vs TNT
At A Glance
- Scottie Thompson made sure to give Ginebra and its legion of fans a fitting Christmas Day gift.
Scottie Thompson made sure to give Ginebra and its legion of fans a fitting Christmas Day gift.
The do-it-all guard delivered the big hits down the stretch as Barangay Ginebra completed a huge come-from-behind 86-78 win over TNT to formally clinch a spot in the quarterfinals in the 2023 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Monday, Dec. 25.

With the Kings uncharacteristically struggling from deep, Thompson drained back-to-back triples which proved to be the dagger against a hard-fighting Tropang Giga who missed the services of import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and veteran guard Jayson Castro.
Ginebra was shooting 1-of-15 from the three-point territory before Thompson's big hits but the Kings still went on to win the contest despite a season low in three-pointers made and percentage.
The Kings, though, are definitely taking the win regardless of how it went especially after they improved their record to 6-3 and kept them in the hunt for the Top 4 and the twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals.
Thompson wound up with an all-around effort of 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists that also preserved a double-double showing from Christian Standhardinger who had 22 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
Import Tony Bishop also posted 15 points, 12 rebounds and six assists to help the Kings erase a 13-point deficit in the first half. Maverick Ahanmisi and Japeth Aguilar also had 11 apiece.
Playing with an extra fight in them, the Tropang Giga came out firing and led, 18-8, in the opening frame and managed to keep the Kings at bay after three quarters, 65-59 largely behind the efforts of Calvin Oftana and solid contributions from the likes of Glenn Khobuntin and Jewel Ponferrada.
Oftana took on the scoring cudgels for the shorthanded TNT with 27 points. Ponferrada had 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench while Khobuntin added 13.
With the loss, TNT is now in dire need of a victories in its last two games to avoid any complications to its playoff bid after falling into a tie at the eighth spot with Rain or Shine with identical 4-5 records.