Do-it-all Scottie Thompson, rookie star Mikey Williams in tight MVP battle (Sabong News)

Scottie Thompson’s terrific campaign in the just-concluded PBA Governors’ Cup has raised talks about the possibility of the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel guard winning the coveted Most Valuable Player award. But will Thompson’s superb role in in the reinforced tournament be enough to see off perhaps his closest challenger in TNT rookie Mikey Williams, putting those tasked to determine the best player of the 46th season in a quandary. Fans and observers on social media and the working press, albeit in informal discussions, have raised the possibility of a tight race between the two players who put up impressive feats during the nine-month season. There are pros and cons in selecting either Thompson, Williams or even someone else, something that was hardly seen in recent seasons with June Mar Fajardo won most of his six MVP trophies in convincing manner. No MVP trophy was handed last season when the 2020 campaign was reduced to a single conference — the Philippine Cup, which saw Ginebra’s Stanley Pringle getting the nod in a tightly-contested race. His teammate Thompson has the benefit of recent success, bagging the and following Ginebra’s Governors’ Cup triumph. A series of outstanding games that included double-double or triple-double stat lines were key in Ginebra’s deep run to the crown despite a detour-filled elims and a sixth seed entering the playoffs. One factor that may deny Thompson the award is Ginebra’s struggles during the Philippine Cup. The Gin Kings won just four games and had to beat the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters in a playoff for the final quarters berth, only to be booted out by Williams and the Tropang Giga. Thompson even missed the final three games of the All-Filipino tourney held in Bacolor, Pampanga when he was forced to enter the league’s health and safety protocols. That conference saw Williams wax hot when it mattered as the Tropang Giga were able to win its first PBA title since the 2015 Commissioner’s Cup. His outside shooting, flashy drives to the hoop and statistical contributions against Magnolia gave Williams the Finals MVP award. Williams carried that momentum into the Governors’ Cup which saw TNT win five in a row at the end of the elims to place third and hold a twice-to-beat advantage against Ginebra. But TNT couldn’t capitalize on the bonus as Thompson and Ginebra went on to win both quarterfinal matches, also denying Williams the opportunity of bagging the BPC plum. Some say that Williams may have been a lock for the award had the Tropang Giga progressed, which could probably deepen his bid to become to win the Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season, equaling Benjie Paras’ feat in 1989. Instead, there will be a deep soul searching among voters — namely the media, players and the PBA Commissioner’s Office — to determine which of the two is deserving. NorthPort’s Robert Bolick and Magnolia’s Calvin Abueva are two players who could also be considered, but with distant chances. Bolick was among the top statistical leaders in both conferences, but NorthPort only reached the quarters of the Philippine Cup while missing out on a playoff spot in the Governors’ Cup. Abueva was hailed as the Philippine Cup’s Best Player of the Conference, but had an injury-marred campaign in the Governors’ Cup that saw him miss the final eight games of the eliminations.