MANILA, Philippines—Gilas Pilipinas will have its chief playmaker Scottie Thompson back for the second window of the 2025 Fiba Asia Cup Qualifiers.

Gilas missed the services of the crafty guard in the 2024 Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga, Latvia four months ago due to recurring back problems.

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“Scottie kind of equalizes everything,” said coach Tim Cone on Thompson’s importance for Gilas.

READ: Gilas coach Tim Cone says Scottie Thompson presence ‘irreplaceable’

“You can watch Scottie on video as much as you want but until you actually get on the floor and play against him, you don’t realize all the stuff he’s doing out there and that’s always a surprise for the other team.”

To address Thompson’s absence in the OQT, Cone dabbled with his roster and gave more ball-handling responsibilities to natural two-guards Chris Newsome and Dwight Ramos.

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But with Thompson back in tow, Gilas’ pieces fall back into place.

READ: Gilas loses Scottie Thompson to old injury ahead of Fiba OQT

“[Chris] New (Newsome) is like our in-game stopper, we want him to really lock into that role but when we went to the OQT, he was still our stopper but he had so much more he had to worry about like handling the ball.”

“Dwight also had to play off-position because he was the off-guard or the backup point guard but now Scottie’s presence moves everybody back in their roles.”

The last time the 31-year-old Thompson suited up for Gilas, he averaged 3.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 9.0 assists in the first window of the ACQ last February where the Nationals went 2-0.