Scottie Thompson had just joined Gilas Pilipinas in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers but he is already making an impact in the international arena.
Thompson, the reigning Most Valuable Player of the Philippine Basketball Association, was voted as the 2022 Player of the Year in Asia due to his massive popularity among basketball fans.
The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel swingman who saw action for Gilas in the fourth window of the qualifiers, bested Yuta Watanabe of Japan in the final polling that ended on 31 December.
In the final day of the polls, Thompson accumulated 40,972 votes, which is way ahead of Watanabe’s 11.074 points.
With the award, Thompson formally joined Kai Sotto (Young Player of the Year) and Kristan Yumul (Player of the Year for Women) in the elite list of Filipinos who were feted by the International Basketball Federation and its legion of fans.
Thompson was one of the few PBA stars added by Gilas coach Chot Reyes to power the national squad that is preparing for the FIBA Basketball World Cup next year.
In four games he played, he averaged 5.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and four assists while providing excitement with his all-around performance, hustle, energy and rebounding prowess.
That’s why it didn’t come as a surprise that fans voted for him to edge Watanabe – Japan’s most beloved player after playing for the Memphis Grizzlies, Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets in the National Basketball Association – as well as Wael Arakji of Lebanon, Zhou Qi of China, Dar Tucker of Jordan, Behnam Yakhchali of Iran, Freddie Lish of Thailand and Sanchir Tungalag of Mongolia.
