Scottie Thompson nailed a clutch triple down the stretch as Barangay Ginebra survived TNT with a nail-biting 87-83 victory to assure itself a spot in the quarterfinals of the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup at the PhilSports Arena on Friday, April 19.

Thompson drilled a tough step-back trey against the shot clock to break an 83-all deadlock with 53 seconds left to give the Kings the much-needed breathing room before banking on their defense on the other end to seal their third straight win.

The veteran playmaker came up huge in what appeared to be already a botched play for Ginebra as he nailed the clutch shot off a Christian Standhardinger kickout and in front of a taller defender in TNT’s Calvin Oftana.

Thompson finished with an all-around effort of 17 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and five steals – a solid performance that also preserved the stellar showing of the Ginebra’s twin tower of Christian Standhardinger and Japeth Aguilar. 

Standhardinger and Aguilar both finished with a double-double with 20 points apiece with the former adding 15 rebounds while the latter collaring 10.

With the win, Ginebra improved to a 6-3 record, formally booking a spot into the playoffs while also solidifying its case for one of the top 2 spots which merit a twice-to-beat advantage. 

The Kings actually started out the contest strong, even erecting a huge 21-point lead in the first half before the Tropang Giga came back roaring in the second quarter to tie the contest at the break, 41-all.

It was a nip-and-tuck affair from there although Ginebra kept control of the lead for the most part of the final frame. The Kings even looked to be cruising to the victory when it took an 83-75 lead but Kelly Williams and Calvin Oftana triggered an 8-0 run to tie the game anew.

That was when Thompson rose to the occasion before the Kings dodged two huge bullets on their next defensive possession after both RR Pogoy and Jayson Castro missed two potential game-tying treys.

Ralph Cu stepped up in the absence of injured wingman Jamie Malonzo, finishing with 12 points while John Pinto also had timely hits in the final frame to finish with seven.

Oftana and Pogoy paced the TNT with 19 points apiece while Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser had 12 points and seven rebounds in a losing effort for the Tropang Giga who fell to a 4-4 slate.