Holt’s impact felt by Ginebra even before Game 3 explosion, says Cone

MANILA, Philippines – Stephen Holt’s hot shooting was a breath of fresh air for Barangay Ginebra as the Gin Kings regained control of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup finals with a breezy 116-102 win over TNT in Game 3 on Sunday, June 7.

After putting up just a single point in the first two games combined, Holt delivered 23 points on a 5-of-8 clip from three-point distance, sparking a sizzling start that allowed Ginebra to post the most lopsided victory of the best-of-seven series.

Make no mistake, though, as much as Holt impressed, his performances in Games 1 and 2 were not much of a concern for Gin Kings head coach Tim Cone. 

“I know there was a lot of internet noise about him not playing well. He’s been playing great. I think if you’re just looking at Stephen strictly as a scorer, you’re not looking at the whole game of basketball,” said Cone. 

“He’s a lot more than just being a scorer. He impacts winning in so many things that he does. He’s the kind of guy who looks at the game and says, ‘Okay, this is what I need to contribute.’ Sometimes it’ll be scoring, sometimes it’ll be being the ball mover, sometimes it’ll being the spread out guy.” 

Holt drew flak from the critical Ginebra faithful following what fans deemed as lackluster offensive performances in the first two games, given that he averaged nearly 28 minutes of action. 

The former No. 1 pick went scoreless in their narrow 102-100 Game 1 win as he missed all of his three field goals then scored just 1 point in their 101-94 Game 2 loss. His other numbers also did not jump out of the stat sheet: 1.5 rebounds, 1.0 assist, and 1.0 steal. 

But Holt showed that he has not lost his touch.

A starter for the third straight game, Holt came out with guns blazing and dropped 15 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting in the opening quarter alone, knocking down 3 three-pointers and 1 four-pointer, as the Gin Kings raced to a commanding 35-16 lead.

That set the tone for the convincing victory, with the rest of Ginebra following suit.

Justin Brownlee finished with 41 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals, Scottie Thompson recorded a triple-double of 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists, RJ Abarrientos churned out 15 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals, and Japeth Aguilar chipped in 11 points and 6 rebounds.

To Cone, the way Holt led Ginebra in Game 3 is exactly why he continues to get significant playing time, whether or not he makes an offensive splash. 

“Stephen’s such a tremendous leader. When everybody says he was struggling, I don’t think he struggled the last two games, he just wasn’t looking [to] shoot. Tonight, he came out looking [to] shoot and it was impactful,” said Cone. 

“He is contributing to winning, and just because you don’t score doesn’t mean you’re not contributing to winning.” 

Even Brownlee feels the same way about Holt, whose big scoring game overshadowed his work on the defensive end as he helped limit TNT star Calvin Oftana to just 2 points on a 1-of-8 clip, a major dip from a 31-point explosion in Game 2.

“We didn’t really notice he was struggling because he’s always doing so many other things. I think he’s such a great leader as well, whether we’re down, whether we’re up… he’s really that one guy that consistently talks to the team, telling guys what we should do, just motivating guys,” said Brownlee.

And thanks to Holt’s resurgence, the Gin Kings are two wins away from ending a three-year championship drought. – Rappler.com