By REYNALD MAGALLON
Looking at the numbers, the conference of Rain or Shine import Deon Thompson may pale in comparison to that of his fellow reinforcements who are also in the semifinals.
But head coach Yeng Guiao stressed that there’s more than meets the eye in terms of what Thompson could provide for the team, even noting that the Elasto Painters would not reach this point of the conference without the underrated import.
“I think among all the imports he’s been the most underrated, lowest scoring import probably. He’s not been really noticed, but for us in the team, we know what he means,” Guiao said of his import.
“I believe he’s a big part of the success that we have right now,” he added.
Thompson is averaging 23.07 points, 13.64 rebounds, 3.79 assists to go with 1.29 steals and 1.57 blocks through 14 games.
After fouling out in the opening game of their quarterfinals series against Converge, the veteran import bounced back with 28 points and 18 rebounds in Game 2 to force the decider before putting up a conference-best 34 points to go with 12 rebounds and seven assists to lift the Elasto Painters to their third straight semifinals appearance.
But while Guiao was giving much of the credit to Thompson, the 6-foot-10 import simply deflected it to the rest of the team.
“It’s a collective team. I think I said it to you earlier that it’s not just about one person,” said Thompson.
“I think when you look at the top teams around this league, Ginebra, Meralco, it is not just JB (Justin Brownlee) or Akil (Mitchell). It’s the collective team, why they’re so good. And I think that’s something that we have here as well,” he added.
Now in the semifinals, Rain or Shine should also look at Thompson’s performance as a barometer of success especially that he boasts size advantage against TNT import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
Thompson, however, isn’t being complacent, knowing full well that his Tropang Giga counterpart is more than capable of impacting the game one way or another.
“Obviously, Rondae is a great player. I think he fits well with their team. How they let him attack in transition and open the floor up,” Thompson said of his semis matchup.
“He’s surrounded by really good shooters. He’s a very good player and he has a way of making an impact defensively. Not even guarding his man. He’s always off the ball, using his length to make deflections and make an impact on the game,” he added.
“It’s something that we’re going to have to study on how we want to attack.”
