Barangay Ginebra star guard Scottie Thompson offered no excuses in their stinging 78-69  Game 7 loss to Meralco that allowed the Bolts to secure their first ever finals stint in the PBA Philippine Cup.

Thompson tipped his hat to their rivals, admitting that the Bolts were simply the better team this time in their storied rivalry and were very much deserving to challenge defending champion San Miguel Beer for the title.

“They deserved na makarating sa Finals. Para sa kanila talaga,” said Thompson after emerging from the dugout of the FPJ Arena in San Jose, Batangas, obviously in low morale as the Kings actually blew off a 3-2 series lead.

Meralco has now won two straight playoff series against Ginebra, although this Game 7 victory proved sweeter as it ended a record of futility that saw the Bolts lose four best-of-seven series against the Kings including two in the Governor’s Cup finals.

It was also the first time that Ginebra head coach Tim Cone tasted a Game 7 defeat since 2012 when he was still with B-Meg.

Thompson and the Kings, however, did not give up without a fight. They led by as many as 11 points in the first half in a rare start, but a huge second-quarter drought spelled the difference.

From there, Ginebra struggled to break down the Bolts’ defensive stand, which at several occasions, forced them to multiple 24-second shot clock violations.

The one-time MVP also showed up and put together his best performance in the series with 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists to no avail as Ginebra also failed to contain Chris Banchero and Chris Newsome who finished with 24 and 20 points respectively.