Bolts deserve PBA finals berth, Ginebra’s Thompson concedes

SAN JOSE, Batangas -- "They deserved it."

Barangay Ginebra guard Scottie Thompson acknowledged that the Meralco Bolts deserved to make the PBA Philippine Cup finals after a masterful 78-69 win over the Gin Kings in Game 7 of their semis series Friday night.

The Bolts turned to defense as they held Ginebra to its lowest scoring output in a game since the 2021 Philippine Cup bubble, according to PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon III.

Asked about his thoughts on the game, Thompson had a short reply.

"They deserved to make it to the finals. It is really for them," he told reporters in Filipino.

The guard tried to spark the comeback of the Gin Kings with timely 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, but it ultimately came up a bit short.

He finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in the game to lead his team.

However, he shot 7-of-19 from the field, with the whole team making just 24 of their 75 field goal attempts.

Ginebra led by 11 early on, but Meralco flipped the script and led by as much as 16 points to breeze through to the finish line.

After winning the 2020 Philippine Cup, the Gin Kings have not reached the finals of the All-Filipino conference in the next three seasons.

On the other hand, the Bolts reached their first Philippine Cup finals.

They will be facing the San Miguel Beermen in the best-of-seven championship series, which will start on Wednesday.