Barangay Ginebra guard Stephen Holt is finally finding his place inside head coach Tim Cone’s triangle offense and it came right at the perfect time when the Kings are in a best-of-seven PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup semifinals affair against the San Miguel Beermen.
Stephen Holt finds sweet spot in Cone's triangle
Oct 11, 2024 05:27 AM
At a glance
Barangay Ginebra guard Stephen Holt is finally finding his place inside head coach Tim Cone’s triangle offense and it came right at the perfect time when the Kings are in a best-of-seven PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup semifinals affair against the San Miguel Beermen.
Holt, in his first semifinals appearance in his PBA career, made a huge impact for Ginebra, finishing with 30 points – an output he achieved through a variety of ways from the mid-range pullup, to his strong drives and to booming triples.
“Stephen is starting to latch on to the system and what we do.” Cone commented on Holt’s performance in Ginebra’s 122-105 win over SMB in Game 1.
“I think in the beginning it was a little difficult for him to find his place in what we are doing, especially on the offensive side. I thought he was kinda lost offensively early in the conference. It took him a while to figure out how and where he can be aggressive in the system that we run,” added the veteran mentor.
Holt seemed to be a tailor fit for the triangle offense, especially a guard of his size and versatility. He has plenty of points of attacks that he can take advantage of to create a shot for himself or for his teammates.
“I think he’s buying that a little bit more and so he’s starting to use all of his game, his ability to get to the rim, his ability to shoot threes, his pull up game. He’s got a lot to give and he’s just trying to discover how to use all of those weapons within what we do,” he added.
Holt finally finding his mark on the offensive end is a huge bonus for Ginebra especially with what he already brings to the table on the defensive end according to Cone
“His defensive side has been lights out ever since we got him. He's got to be one of the top, if not the best defensive players in the league right now,” Cone said of Holt who has been the Kings’ designated import defender.
“He can guard anybody. He can guard the import. He can guard really good (players), the Bolicks and guys like that as well. He's really versatile in his defense and he works on it so hard,” he added.