Stephen Holt delivered in his first-ever semifinal game in the PBA for Barangay Ginebra San Miguel. The 6-foot-4 guard posted 30 points while shooting 11/18 from the field (61.1%) on top of eight rebounds and four assists, and he said that this was a matter of him steadily living up to his billing with the Gin Kings.
“I mean it’s big time. I think I’m settling into my role pretty nicely here,” said Holt following Ginebra’s 122-105 victory over the San Miguel Beermen in Game 1 of their best-of-seven affair, Wednesday evening at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
“I know at moments I have to be more aggressive than I have been in the previous games, and that comes with experience, that comes with trust from my teammates. I definitely wanted to be aggressive tonight, help the guys out.”
“I was able to get to the basket and make my finishes. But yeah, it’s only Game 1. We can’t be settled and get too happy with this,” he added.
However, it was not only on the offensive side of things that Holt showed up.
He was also a factor on the defensive end for Ginebra, especially in the third period wherein they limited San Miguel to only scoring 20 — their lowest quarter production in the game — and no other than BGSM head coach Tim Cone was impressed with Holt.
“He’s one of the best defenders in the league,” Coach Tim said. “He’s really versatile in his defense, and he works at it so hard.”
Despite the praise, Holt acknowledged that being consistent in his defensive responsibilities for Ginebra is not an easy task.
“It’s definitely been a challenge for me,” the 32-year-old said. “Most of my career in Europe, Australia, and in the G-League, I’ve been a point guard or shooting guard. So I’ve mainly been guarding the one and two positions, whether be imports or whatnot in my career. So I think that’s just been the biggest challenge for me being the PBA in this import-laden conference.”
“Now I’m going to have to guard the three and the four positions. So I have just been doing my due diligence in the film room. I know I have the advantage on the perimeter with my speed. I just have to be physical down low on the post. And just do the best I can,” added Holt.
Going back to Holt’s offensive prowess, Cone also expressed relief that his newest Swiss army knife is finally finding his groove offensively.
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel‘s Stephen Holt against the San Miguel Beermen in Game 1 of the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup Semifinals series, October 9, 2024, at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig. Photo from PBA Images
“I thought he got kind of lost offensively early in the conference. It took him a while to figure out where and how he can be aggressive within the system that we run, but he’s now finding that I think a little bit more,” explained Coach Tim.
“He’s starting to use all of his game. His ability to get to the rim, and his ability to shoot threes.”
These, according to Holt, is his work and potential finally translating into the hardwood for the Barangay as well as stepping up now that the stakes are higher.
“Justin [Brownlee] was previously down with a calf injury. So for me, I had to step up at moments to take the pressure off of him and our offense,” he said. “Coming off the rest, that was very important for us to come out with the energy that we did — Compete on both ends of the floor, and just trying to execute the game plan as best we could.”
“This is what we want. We want a big-time opponent like San Miguel, and hopefully, we can finish the job and get three more wins,” added Holt.
