MANILA, Philippines – Scottie Thompson is coming in hot for his first Best Player of the Conference award as he cracked the top five of the statistical race through the quarterfinals of the PBA Governors’ Cup.

The Barangay Ginebra guard jumped from No. 6 to No. 2 after sending the Gin Kings to the semifinals with a pair of impressive performances that saw him raise his statistical points (SPs) average to 36.1.

He trails NorthPort’s Robert Bolick, who remained on top with 39.9 SPs, and leapfrogged Phoenix’s Matthew Wright (33.6), Batang Pier’s Arwind Santos (33.5), and TNT’s Mikey Williams (32.6).

Raising his game to another level, Thompson averaged 20 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 8.5 assists in the quarterfinals as Ginebra overhauled a twice-to-beat disadvantage to eliminate the Tropang Giga.

Overall, the do-it-all guard normed 13.9 points, 9.9 rebounds, 6.4 assists, and 1.3 steals through the quarterfinals.

With NLEX’s Kevin Alas (31.8) dropping from No. 4 to No. 8, Thompson is the only player in the top five who is still seeing action in the semifinals, giving him the inside track for the coveted award.

Thompson continues to impress as he churns out 16 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 3 assists to help the Gin Kings claim a 2-0 lead over the Road Warriors in their best-of-five semifinals, a win away from a finals berth.

Rounding out the top 10 in SPs are San Miguel’s June Mar Fajardo (32.1), Magnolia’s Paul Lee (31.9) and Mark Barroca (30.8), and NorthPort’s Jamie Malonzo (29.8).

Meanwhile, the Beermen’s Shabazz Muhammad leads the imports in SPs with 53.5 followed by Meralco’s Tony Bishop (52.2), and Barangay Ginebra’s Justin Brownlee (51.6)

Muhammad, though, is unlikely to win Best Import considering he played only four games, while Brownlee and Bishop started the conference and are still seeing action in the final four. – Rappler.com