Thompson adds another milestone as ‘TD’ fuels Game 3 victory

Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings’ Scottie Thompson during Game 3 vs TNT Tropang 5G in the 2026 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals. –PBA IMAGES

Scottie Thompson’s triple-double in Barangay Ginebra’s Game 3 victory over TNT had a lot of “first since” written all over it.

Thompson finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in the Gin Kings’ 116-102 win at the Mall of Asia Arena, recording the 12th triple-double of his PBA career.

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According to PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon, Thompson became the first player since teammate Justin Brownlee to reach 12 career triple-doubles. More significantly, he is the first local player to record at least 12 career triple-doubles since PBA great Ramon Fernandez achieved the feat in the 1980s.

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It was also the league’s first triple-double since Brownlee posted one in Game 6 of the 2022-23 Commissioner’s Cup Finals against guest team Bay Area.

Thompson’s all-around effort helped Ginebra seize a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Game 3 also saw Thompson become the 103rd player in PBA history to score 5,000 career points after converting a layup midway through the opening quarter.

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Still, Thompson’s milestones took a back seat to the performances of Stephen Holt and Brownlee. Holt snapped out of an offensive slump to score 23 points, while Brownlee erupted for 41 to power the Gin Kings.

“I got to tip my cap to our players,” coach Tim Cone said. “It was the third game in five days, but we basically only played five or six guys in heavy minutes. They really dug deep, knowing this could be a pivotal game in the series.

“A lot of things happened for us and we’re pleased to come away with the victory,” Cone added, while also praising RJ Abarrientos for his floor leadership.

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Abarrientos scored 15 points and added five rebounds and six assists. He also hit a crucial four-point play against TNT import Chris McCullough that helped blunt the Tropang 5G’s fourth-quarter rally.

McCullough finished with 44 points in the loss, putting him on the other side of another statistical rarity.

Mangonon noted that Brownlee and McCullough became the first opposing players to score at least 40 points each in a PBA Finals game since Alaska import Ron Riley and Purefoods import Derrick Brown did so in 2002.

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Riley scored 43 points while Brown had 45 in Alaska’s 106-102 double-overtime victory in Game 2 of the Governors’ Cup Finals. inq