Ginebra guard Stephen Holt.–PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines–Barangay Ginebra hardly looked like a struggling squad on Tuesday night, picking apart NLEX with methodical precision for a 119-91 triumph that put the Gin Kings back into the win column of the PBA Governors’ Cup.
Stephen Holt starred for crowd darlings at Smart Araneta Coliseum with 26 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists.
“I think we played with a really good tempo tonight, and I thought that other guys other than Justin (Brownlee) stepped up and played aggressively and looked for their shots like this guy,” Ginebra coach Tim Cone said of Holt, the league’s Rookie of the Year.
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“I think that takes the pressure off of Justin. But on the other hand, I’ll be honest, I thought they (NLEX) looked a little tired coming from out of town, and having that big overtime win over San Miguel. I think they were in a bit of a letdown and we were able to take advantage of it. Stephen got us to a really good start and I think that set the tempo and got everyone going, so that was really cool. I like that,” he added.
Also figuring prominently in Ginebra’s uptempo play were Maverick Ahanmisi, Scottie Thompson, and RJ Abarrientos who all finished with at least 19 points each.
With the club’s guards catching fire, Brownlee and Japeth Aguilar were able to take it easy. They both had 13 points in the dominant effort that somehow eased the shock loss to Blackwater last week and hiked the team’s mark in Group B to 2-3.
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Ginebra’s play also kept NLEX under the century mark for the first time in this conference, sending its foe to a 3-2 record.
Robert Bolick had 19 points for the Road Warriors, while import Myke Henry added 16 points. Robbie Herndon, Dominic Fajardo, and Jhan Nermal all added double digits in the losing.
Ginebra takes on Phoenix, while NLEX goes up against Blackwater next.