Stephen Holt knocked down arguably the biggest shot of his career as Ginebra escaped Converge in overtime, 99-98, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum on Sunday night to move on to the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup semifinals.
The seasoned playmaker nailed a booming trifecta from the top of the key at the final buzzer, saving the day for a Kings side that’s already without three key cogs on their way to becoming the third team to reach the last four.
Jayson David went down due to a shoulder injury, before Scottie Thompson and Japeth Aguilar fouled out one after the other, which seemingly gave the FiberXers all the needed breaks to complete the ouster of the traditional contenders.
They even stared at a 95-89 deficit with 1:39 left to play, but the NSD spirit was on full display again behind RJ Abarrientos and Troy Rosario, before Holt delivered the killer punch that left the opposition and its fans stunned.
Holt, who made just one out of seven attempts from three prior, finished with nine points and eight rebounds as his heroics enabled the Barangay to overcome a twice-to-win disadvantage against the no. 4 seed.
(C) PBA Images
“It felt miraculous to me,” offered head coach Tim Cone, in awe of the character his prized guard and his entire charges showed en route to arranging a best-of-7 semifinal showdown with reigning champions San Miguel Beer.
Abarrientos top-scored for Ginebra with 20 points. David and Thompson had 13 points apiece, with the former MVP adding five rebounds and eight assists.
Rosario notched a double-double of 12 points and 14 rebounds while Aguilar made 10 points and seven boards before exiting for good.
Rosario himself was crucial in the rally with his timely hits from three, none more important than his second and last of the game as he took advantage of their foes’ miscue to cut the gap to just a point, 97-96, with 20.6 seconds left.
That shot came from a Holt assist as he was doubled. And that only contributed to the finish so dramatic, with the former No. 1 pick at the very center of it.
“When it comes down to it, our guys fought, and our guys battled,” said Cone. “We didn’t play a great game tonight; we didn’t have everything going tonight. But we just kept battling and battling and finding a way to win.”
The comeback indeed broke the hearts of Converge as they ruined the young franchise’s bid to reach the semis for the first time ever.
Wasted by the loss was the supposed redemption arc of Juan Gomez de Liano in this series. The lefty guard, after mustering just nine in their previous encounter, fired 25 points this time alongside five assists.
The third pick of the recent draft appeared to be the thorn on Ginebra’s side as he pushed them to the ropes a few times, one of which was his three-point play off Holt for an 84-83 lead with 18.6 seconds left in regulation.
Kevin Racal had seemingly iced the game with a perfect trip to the line moments later but Alec Stockton committed a shooting foul against Jeremiah Gray with 3.4 to go, and the latter would go 3-for-3 to send the game into OT eventually.
Fouls were a huge problem for Stockton as he would also be called for another–his sixth and last of the game–with 1:32 left in the match, as it sent Abarrientos to the stripe, practically enabling the Kings to chip away the deficit.
(C) PBA Images
Such mistakes would ultimately put to naught their efforts in trying to send the opposition packing, particularly of Gomez de Liano, whose lone four-pointer of the night gave them the aforementioned six-point advantage.
“Credit to Converge. They showed a lot of resilience. But the Ginebra ‘NSD’ spirit continues on,” said Holt, who also had four assists and a steal.
Archie Concepcion had a career-high 18 points. Justin Arana made 15 points and 10 rebounds, with frontcourt partner Justine Baltazar registering a double-double of his own with 13 points and a game-high 20 rebounds.
King Caralipio added 11 markers for the FiberXers, who are bowing out of the quarterfinals for the seventh time since joining the league in 2022.
The Scores:
Ginebra 99 – Abarrientos 20, David 13, Thompson 13, Rosario 12, J. Aguilar 10, Gray 9, Holt 9, Torres 8, Cu 4, Estil 1
Converge 98 – Gomez de Liaño 25, Concepcion 18, Arana 15, Baltazar 13, Caralipio 11, Stockton 8, Winston 6, Racal 2, Garcia 0, Muyang 0, Manuel 0, Delos Santos 0, Eguilos 0
Quarterscores: 19-21, 39-40, 68-60, 86-86, 99-98.
#WATCH: WE GOT LUCKY 🏀
Tim Cone was all praises, not just for his Ginebra players, but also Converge for the epic they delivered on Sunday#ReadMore 👉 https://t.co/vRel0ijase
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— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) December 28, 2025
