Most definitely, Iskati would’ve given the Philippines a big lift

PHOTO: JEROME ASCANO/FIBA

IN his belief, Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone proved himself right that he would be missing Scottie Thompson in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Though Gilas had an impressive showing in the qualifier in Riga, Latvia, Cone believes they badly needed Thompson’s presence as point guard, knowledge of their schemes, and energy on and off the court.

Thompson was ruled out of the FIBA OQT due to lingering back issues that he had playing through since the PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series against Meralco.

“I said it before the OQT started, everyone knows how much I, personally and the coaching staff, rely on Scottie,” said Cone on Thursday in an interview with reporters during the PBA Draft Combine.

“Everything is built through him. He was a big loss for Gilas.”

Cone said the absence of Thompson forced other players to play out of position, such as Dwight Ramos. And although the Fil-Am played excellently throughout the entire OQT, he would have played even better had he played his natural position.

“We had to move players around, putting them in different positions, especially Dwight. I think we could have gotten more out of Dwight if he had been at a natural position. He had to play out of position,” he said.

“He was still great. He is always great. But on a scale of 1 to 10, he is a 10 in his comfortable position. Maybe an eight in an uncomfortable position. That’s kinda what we were forced to do with him. Scottie would have alleviated that.”

The difference Thompson would’ve made

After Gilas played its third game in four days against Brazil in the semifinals, Cone believed Thompson would have also provided a jolt of energy for the national team.

“And just to have that extra energy guy in the third game, fourth game, the energy guy (who) continues to push everybody,” said Cone.

“I really missed him. I’ll always miss Scottie. He is one of a kind. The only other guy that I can compare with him is Johnny Abarrientos. I (relied) on Johnny, too, in the same way.”

Cone admitted he still doesn’t know Thompson’s health status, as he only arrived in Manila on Wednesday, but he is aware that the former PBA MVP is continuously rehabbing his back.

The concurrent Barangay Ginebra coach, however, revealed that Thompson’s condition had gotten worse during the semifinals and into the lead-up for the OQT. Even standing up, the former claimed, has become a chore for the latter.

As such, Iskati’s return to action for the Gin Kings remains up in the air.

“I’ve always said that back issues are one of the toughest to really latch on in terms of how you are rehabbing, how you get it right. The last resort for back is really surgery. You want to do everything you can except that surgery,” Cone said.

“We don’t really know where Scottie is at this point. He was not good at all before we left for the Inspire (training) camp. Just having trouble standing up and walking around. We don’t know where he is at this point. I’ll talk to him in a couple of days and figure out. He may miss some time.”