There will be no Stephen Holt slander under Tim Cone and Justin Brownlee.
On Sunday, in the aftermath of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s 116-102 victory over the TNT Tropang 5G in Game 3 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals, both Cone and Brownlee made it abundantly clear that they have Holt’s back. This came after the sweet-shooting Fil-Am drew flak from fans online for scoring a mere 3 points in Games 1 and 2 combined.
Cone Vouches for Holt
For Cone, in particular, Holt is far more than just a scorer. Instead, he is a player who impacts games in many different aspects—including in ways casual fans might not necessarily see.
“I know there was a lot of internet noise about him not playing well. He’s been playing great. I think if you’re just looking at Stephen strictly as a scorer, you’re not looking at the whole game of basketball,” Cone told reporters after Ginebra’s pivotal win on Sunday. “He’s a lot more than just being a scorer. He impacts winning in so many things that he does. And even when he was not scoring a lot, he’s the kind of guy who looks at the game and says, okay, this is what I need to contribute. Sometimes it’ll be scoring, sometimes it’ll be being the ball mover, sometimes it’ll be the spread-out guy…”
In Game 3, Ginebra needed Holt to fire away—and he did, rifling in 15 first-quarter points to help stake the crowd darlings to a 35-16 lead after one. That cushion proved to be a difference-maker later in the game, when TNT made one last furious push in the final frame.
Brownlee Praises Holt’s Leadership, Defense
Brownlee concurred, stressing that Ginebra never felt Holt was struggling because he contributed in many other areas, including defence and leading the team.
“I think he set the tone for us, especially offensively. But he’s always consistently defending one of the best players on the other team, if not the best player. And like [Tim] said as well, we didn’t really notice he was struggling because he’s always doing so many other things,” Brownlee added. “I think he’s such a great leader as well. Whether we’re down, whether we’re up, he’s the one guy that’s consistently talking to the team and telling guys what we should do, and just motivating guys…”
Holt did set the tone for Game 3 with his blazing-hot shooting. Just as important, he also flourished on defence as Calvin Oftana’s primary defender, limiting the Gilas Pilipinas mainstay to just 2 points after dropping 31 in TNT’s Game 2 victory.
Fans, of course, want more from Stephen Holt. He has shown he can do more. He just needs to do it again.
