STEPHEN Holt considered his game-winning triple against Converge on Sunday as “one of the bigger shots” of his basketball career, which not only redeemed himself from a bad shooting night, but more importantly, saved Barangay Ginebra’s title chase for the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup.
Showing the never-say-die (NSD) spirit the team was known for since the heydays of legendary playing coach Robert Jaworski, Ginebra rose from the jaws of defeat, especially after Converge rookie Juan Gomez De Liano gave his team a 95-89 lead on a four-point shot with just 1:34 to go in overtime.
The Gin Kings, however, refused to raise the white flag even though they no longer had veteran stars Scottie Thompson and Japeth Aguilar at that juncture.
“The play was designed obviously for RJ,” said Holt, pointing to sophomore guard RJ Abarrientos, who led the team’s comeback with 20 points, including a perfect 10-of-10 from the foul line. “We [wanted] to give him a good look, didn’t work out.”
The FiberXers did well defensively that prevented Abarrientos from getting a clear view to take the three-point shot with time ticking away.
But converge forgot to put the clamps on Holt, who was then 1-of-7 from downtown.
“Second option was for me to come off a pick-and-roll. And again, I just wanted to execute whatever the game presented to me,” he said during the postgame interview.
Holt gamely sank the game-winning triple just as the buzzer sounded, eliciting a massive celebration among the throng of Ginebra faithful inside the Big Dome, while Gin Kings coach Tim Cone raised his arms in jubilation.
“That’s probably one of the bigger shots in my career,” said Holt, the Season 48 PBA Rookie of the Year who wound up with nine points, eight rebounds and four assists.
“I just wanted to execute whatever the game presented to me. I was struggling all game, but I want to step up for my team,” said the Filipino American Ginebra guard.
Holt laid tribute to his teammates for refusing to quit considering they played without Thompson and Aguilar in overtime.
“I felt like we deserved this. We showed so much heart with people fouling out, going into overtime and players playing extended minutes,” Holt said. “That’s true NSD spirit. I love my guys, he added.
The win vaulted Ginebra to the best-of-seven semifinal series against San Miguel Beer.
While the loss ended Converge’s dream of reaching the Final Four for the first time in franchise history.
Source: Holt redeems shooting slump with game-winning triple
