MANILA, Philippines – Wanting to deliver on Ginebra coach Tim Cone’s directives to step up on defense, Stephen Holt did more than enough to help tow his squad to a bounce-back 119-91 win against the NLEX Road Warriors in the PBA Governors’ Cup on Tuesday, September 3, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Holt submitted his finest outing since being traded to Ginebra, scoring a game-high 26 points on 11-of-19 shooting, on top of 11 rebounds and 6 assists.
“From the jump, coach wanted us to be aggressive on both ends of the floor, individually as players and as a team,” Holt said.
“I wanted to set the tone defensively. We talked about that in the locker room and so I have a tough job every night, switching me and [Justin Brownlee] on the import,” he added.
“It’s a total team effort and I just got to deny and make sure to make it… difficult [for the imports].”
The reigning Rookie of the Year, Holt helped hold NLEX import Myke Henry to 16 points on 7-of-16 shooting in one of his worst PBA outings.
Ginebra, which lost in a stunning 95-88 upset by the Blackwater Bossing last August 30, led by as many as 33 points in the fourth quarter.
The Gin Kings, now at an even 2-2 record, also saw efficient point production from Maverick Ahanmisi (20), Scottie Thompson and rookie RJ Abarrientos (19 each).
Robert Bolick paced the Road Warriors with 19 markers.
NLEX, however, remains ahead of Ginebra in the standings with a 3-2 slate in Pool B.
“I thought we played with a really good tempo tonight and I thought guys other than Justin (Brownlee) stepped up and played aggressively and looked for their shots,” Cone said.
“I thought [NLEX] looked tired tonight coming from out of town, having that overtime win against San Miguel. I think they kind of suffered a letdown, and we were able to take advantage of it.”
Meanwhile, in the curtain-raiser, Blackwater import George King dropped 44 points, while second overall pick Sedrick Barefield added 32 in the Bossings’ 123-111 triumph over the sliding Phoenix Fuel Masters.
King also made a splash in his first PBA assignment, posting 32 points and 19 rebounds in the upset win against Ginebra last Friday, August 30.
In his PBA debut, Fuel Masters reinforcement Brandone Francis had 45 points, added 9 boards, dished out 8 assists, but committed 6 turnovers.
After Blackwater erected a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Fuel Masters stormed back to within five, 109-104, after a Francis layup with 5:10 to go.
Barefield then responded with a three-point play in the final 4:27 to make it 112-104, as Phoenix missed shot after shot down the stretch.
Jason Perkins knocked down 29 markers for Phoenix, which fell to a 0-4 record to start the season-opening conference.
The Scores
First Game
Blackwater 123 – King 44, Barefield 32, Ilagan 14, Rosario 12, David 8, Escoto, 6, Chua 4, Kwekuteye 3, Suerte 0, Guinto 0, Ponferada 0, Montalbo 0, Mitchell 0.
Phoenix 111 – Francis 45, Perkins 29, Garcia 8, Manganti 7, Tio 5, Mocon 4, Ballungay 4, Muyang 3, Soyud 2, Salado 2, Rivero 2, Jazul 0, Tuffin 0, Daves 0, Alejandro 0, Verano 0.
Quarters: 27-23, 64-58, 103-84, 123-111.
Second Game
Ginebra 119 – Holt 26, Ahanmisi 20, Thompson 19, Abarrientos 19, Brownlee 13, Aguilar 13, Tenorio 3, Pinto 3, Go 3, Garcia 0, Cu 0, Mariano 0.
NLEX 91 – Bolick 19, Henry 16, Herndon 15, Fajardo 14, Nermal 10, Nieto 8, Valdez 4, Rodger 3, MArcelo 2, Amer 0, Policarpio 0, Miranda 0.
Quarters: 36-23, 63-43, 92-64, 119-91.
– Rappler.com