Star player Scottie Thompson of Barangay Ginebra has not provided an explanation for his current slump in the PBA 48th Season Philippine Cup playoffs.

Even though he had eight points and nine rebounds in Ginebra’s 87-80 loss to Meralco at the City of Dasmarinas Arena in Game Three, Thompson’s performance did not improve.

Even still, Thompson’s field goal percentage in Game Three was just 2-of-13, which means that throughout the playoffs, including their quarterfinal matchup with Magnolia Chicken Timplados, he only shot 11-of-45 (24 percent).

But Meralco coach Luigi Trillo said that even he doesn’t know why the former PBA MVP hasn’t performed as normal, saying that they can’t be solely blamed for Thompson’s difficulties this season.

Trillo was alluding to Thompson’s back issue that prevented him from playing in the first six games of the Philippine Cup elimination round, which included the Gin Kings’ 91-73 loss to Meralco on March 15.

Soon, bolts anticipate a Thompson blast

The Bolts are ready for a Thompson explosion, which might occur when the series continues at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on Friday, despite the Ginebra star having a few off nights.

Trillo saw that despite Thompson having multiple scoring opportunities in the first half, Meralco still needed to do a lot of defending against him.

Thompson is maintaining his optimistic outlook in spite of his difficulties during the playoffs.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, during Game Three of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals in Dasmariñas City, Sidney Onwubere made a trip back to his hometown.

The forward for Barangay Ginebra completed his high school education at the Emilio Aguinaldo College-Immaculate Concepcion Academy in Dasmariñas, which is conveniently close to the City of Dasmariñas Arena, the venue of Wednesday’s match.

Onwubere attended EAC during his college years, but he later relocated to its Manila campus to play in the NCAA, where he was inducted into the Mythical Team in 2017.

A sellout audience is expected

The thirty-year-old Onwubere stated that, given how devoted the residents of Dasmariñas City are to basketball, the sellout crowd at the 4,500-seat arena no longer shocked him on Wednesday.

The PBA, which has had difficulty drawing spectators to Metro Manila venues this conference, saw a boost in confidence from the sold-out audience.

Considering how many people were requesting tickets, Onwubere also had a sneaking suspicion that Wednesday’s playdate would be well attended.

Regretfully, Onwubere’s return trip was not fruitful as Ginebra lost 87-80 to Meralco on Wednesday, dropping them to a 2-1 deficit in the best-of-seven quarterfinal series.

Dasmariñas has more PBA games

Onwubere is optimistic that the PBA will visit the city again and host additional games at the Dasmariñas Arena in the near future, including matches without Barangay Ginebra, given the positive response from the crowd.