In true never-say-die spirit, Stephen Holt drilled the game-winning three-point buzzer-beater as Barangay Ginebra outlasted Converge, 99-98, in overtime of the do-or-die quarterfinals to punch a Final Four ticket in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
With the conference on the line and time winding down, Holt, who was not having a good shooting night, received the pass from RJ Abarrientos. He squared off for a shot fake and got defender Michael Garcia up in the air, dribbled left and let loose the biggest shot of a nail-biter of a win-or-go-home game that saw the FiberXers squander a twice-to-beat advantage.
“We didn’t play a great game tonight. We didn’t have everything going tonight but we just kept on battling and battling and finding a way to win,” said Ginebra head coach Tim Cone, who kept muttering ‘We got lucky’ inside the dugout after the game.
Holt finished with just nine points on 3-of-10 field goal shooting, including only the second made three-pointer of his eight attempts from the outside.
“I just want to say congratulations to Converge. They are an up-and-coming team. They showed resilience and made us work in the last two games. But at the end of the day, I love my guys, man. I love my team. I love our spirit. We’ve been through so many adversities, ups and downs,” Holt said.
“Just my mentality is I want to win.”
The Kings face defending champion San Miguel Beer in the best-of-seven semifinals.
Abarrientos finished with 20 points, Scottie Thompson had 13 markers, eight assists and five rebounds before fouling out late in regulation while Jayson David, who hurt his right hand in the fourth quarter, got 13 points for Ginebra. Japeth Aguilar scored 10 and pulled down seven rebounds before fouling out with 29 seconds remaining in OT.
Rookie Juan Gomez De Liano gave Converge a 95-89 advantage after swishing in a four-pointer with 1:39 left in the extension.
Abarrientos sank four straight free throws to keep the Kings in the game. Gomez De Liano answered with two charities before Troy Rosario’s trey clipped the FiberXers lead to 97-96 with 20 ticks left.
Converge big man Justine Baltazar split his foul shots in a pressure-packed trip to the line with eight seconds left that left an opening for Holt’s winning bucket.
Gomez de Liano had 25 points, Archie Concepcion finished with 18 markers, while Justin Arana had a double-double of 15 points and 13 boards. Baltazar had 13 markers and 20 rebounds for the FiberXers, who were booted out by Ginebra in the Last 8 for the second consecutive tournament.
Kevin Racal made two of his free throws with nine seconds left in regulation for an 86-83 Converge lead.
Jeremiah Gray fished a foul from Alec Stockton from the three-point area and calmly sank all three attempts to knot the count at 86 with 3.4 seconds left.
Gomez De Liano tried to win it for Converge in regulation, but his four-point shot bounced off the back of the rim as time expired.