Holt my hand: ‘Second option’ powers Ginebra to semis

Staring at a two-point deficit with just eight seconds left in the extension, Barangay Ginebra head coach Tim Cone designed a make-or-break play specifically for guard RJ Abarrientos.

Converge reacted right on defense, deploying long-armed Justine Baltazar to cover the second-year Kings playmaker.

But Cone also drew up a Plan B.

Second option Stephen Holt, despite a subpar shooting night, delivered the knockout punch, hitting the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer to propel Ginebra to the semifinals of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Philippine Cup late Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“That’s probably one of the biggest shots in my career,” Holt said after the Kings completed an upset of the twice-to-beat FiberXers with a dramatic 99-98 overtime victory.

Before his cold-blooded dagger, Holt was barely felt on offense.

He was 2-of-9 from the field, including a 1-of-7 clip from the three-point area prior to his final shot, and wasn’t having the best night.

“I mean, it’s, you know, it’s pretty clear I was struggling on both ends of the floor,” said the 34-year-old two-way guard.

“But again, I just love my guys, man, they just continue to give me confidence and when I had my moment, I knew I had to step up,” added the 2023 Draft top overall pick.

Abarrientos was supposed to take the last shot after the FiberXers extended their lead to 98-96 off a split by Justine Baltazar from the freethrow line.

The PBA Season 49 Rookie of the Year got the ball off Holt’s bounce pass as he flashed on the three-point area at the top of the key. With Baltazar hounding him, Abarrientos drove to his right and passed the ball to Holt, who faked a shot and sent his defender MJ Garcia flying to the air.

It was enough separation for Holt as he dribbled left before letting loose the final arrow as Baltazar came too late for the help defense.

The shot found the bottom of the net as pandemonium broke out inside the arena.

“The play was designed, obviously, for RJ, we wanted to get him a good look, didn’t work out,” said the PBA Season 48 Rookie of the Year.

“Second option was for me to try and come off a pick and roll and again, I just wanted to execute whatever the game presented to me. And so, like I said, I was struggling all game, but again, I just wanted to step up for my team because, I feel like we deserve this, man,” Holt added.

After the trey connected, Holt was mobbed by his teammates led by Scottie Thompson and Japeth Aguilar, who both fouled out.

In true never-say-die fashion, Ginebra stayed alive in a do-or-die — its second straight after surviving Game 1 on Christmas Day in a 105-85 rout.

Now the Kings move on to battle defending champion San Miguel Beer in a best-of-seven semifinals showdown.

“We just showed so much heart with people fouling out, going into overtime and players playing extended minutes, man, like that’s just true NSD spirit, so I love my guys, man,” Holt said.

Cone also credited the maturity and presence of mind of Abarrientos for not forcing his shot.

“That last play, they were so locked in to stopping RJ that they made the big mistake of leaving Stephen open,” the 25-time PBA champion tactician said.

“And Stephen hit the big shot, so kudos to RJ as well for making those plays, those unselfish plays, not trying to force things and, you know, get those numbers. He wasn’t concerned about that. He was concerned about winning,” Cone added.

But there’s no rest for weary Ginebra.  

“Well, it’s still back to work for us, I’m afraid. It’s going to be a working holiday for us,” Cone said.

“You know, like I said, we have a big opponent coming up, you know, we’ll maybe take a day at most two. We’re going to practice tomorrow, we’re going to meet for practice tomorrow, so the work still continues for us.”