ANTIPOLO — Stephen Holt assured that there’s nothing to worry about after a scary slip cast a cloud of anxiety over Ginebra during their eventual defeat to Hong Kong Eastern in a PBA Commissioner’s Cup fixture on Sunday night.
The Kings guard allayed fears of any major injury and said that he’d only need some time to rest and recover – without the need for further scans.
“Yeah, it’s fine,” he told reporters moments after their 93-90 loss at the Ynares Center here. “Ask me tomorrow. I mean, I still have a lot of adrenaline right now. [But] it’s nothing serious. I don’t think we need to do scans or anything.
“It probably just looked worse on the replay. But thank the Lord that it’s nothing too serious,” last season’s Rookie of the Year awardee added.
Holt fell on the floor just about 10 seconds into the fourth quarter when his right leg buckled in an attempt to cover Kobey Lam on defense.
It took the 33-year-old a while to get back up, causing concern inside the venue as he clutched his knee, visibly in pain.
However, he managed to stand on his own, and even walked it off as he then headed straight to the team’s dugout for further treatment.
“I think that’s just the main thing. It’s just the mentality. It’s just trying to be tough. I wanted to walk off, show my teammates that I can bounce back,” he said.
Even better, the first overall pick of last year’s draft managed to come back later in the game, although his return wasn’t enough to spark a rally for Ginebra.
The team eventually absorbed its first loss after a 2-0 start into the conference.
“Thankfully, I was able to come back. I didn’t make too much of an impact, unfortunately,” said Holt, who finished with 14 points and five rebounds.
Still, he felt proud of the fight they showed as a collective despite coming into the game a tired bunch, as it was their third match in five nights.
Now, it’s about getting some much-needed R&R for Holt as they bid to go back on track versus Terrafirma this Wednesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
“I wish I could’ve done more for my guys. But again, we fought. It was our third game in five days, but no excuses,” said the 10-year pro out of Saint Mary’s College. “So we gotta be prepared for Wednesday.”
