STEPHEN Holt is showing signs of the billing that made him the top overall pick of the PBA Rookie Draft.
And his performance to begin the PBA Philippine Cup has bode well for the Terrafirma Dyip, who are off to their best start since claiming their only playoff appearance in the league.
“I’ve always said that stats don’t matter, it’s all about winning, lifting and elevating the group and being a positive influence both offensively and defensively,” said Holt, who was adjudged as the All-Filipino tournament’s first PBA Press Corps-Pilipinas Live Player of the Week.
While he doesn’t care about the numbers, Holt’s 22.0-point, 8.5-rebound, 4.0-assist and 4.5-steal production has elevated a Terrafirma side that defeated Converge and NLEX in the first week of the season-ending conference.
He opened the Philippine Cup by resetting his season-high with 27 points while contributing 10 rebounds, four assists and five steals and the Dyip rolled past the FiberXers, 107-99, on March 1.
Two days later saw Holt go for 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals in a hard-fought 99-95 win over the Road Warriors that put the Dyip at 2-0, tying another perennial bottom feeder in the Blackwater Bossing.
Terrafirma hasn’t been to the playoffs since the 2016 Governors’ Cup, holding the league’s longest active drought. At that time, the franchise won four in a row on its way to making the top eight.
It’s a destination Holt and the Dyip, who are also led by the likes of first-time All-Star Juami Tiongson, Javi Gomez de Liano and Isaac Go, are looking to reach this time.
“it’s really difficult for a group like us that hasn’t tasted too much success,” said Holt. “We just have to stay positive, keep working like we had in the lead-up to this conference.“Again, we can only control what we can control.”
Holt was the unanimous choice for the award given weekly by the men and women covering the beat, defeating Tiongson and Blackwater’s Troy Rosario.