MANILA, Philippines — Stephen Holt set the tone offensively early as Barangay Ginebra rolled to a lopsided 119-91 demolition of the NLEX Road Warriors to get the Gin Kings back on the winning track in the PBA 49th Season Governors' Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Holt, last season's Rookie of the Year, fired nine of his game-high 26 points as the Gin Kings jumped off to a 36-23 lead in the opening period
The rest of the Gin Kings took the cue from there as Maverick Ahanmise went on to finish with 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists, while Scottie Thompson and rookie RJ Abarrientos chipped in 19 apiece.
Import Justin Brownlee finished with 13 markers, while grabbing seven rebounds and issuing nine assists for Ginebra, which forged a three-way tie with its victim and San Miguel at 2-2 in Group B.
Rain or Shine is the lone unbeaten squad in this conference with its 4-0 record.
'Justin was trying to make up with our struggling (early this conference) but tonight, everybody started well and stepped in, starting with Stephen, and that got everybody going and getting aggressive,' Ginebra coach Tim Cone, whose team is coming off a shock 95-88 loss to Blackwater last week.
The 6-foot-4 Holt added 11 rebounds and six assists, while making his defensive presence felt after helping contain NLEX import Myke Henry to just 16 points.
Robert Bolick led NLEX with 19 points while Rob Herndon and Domnic Fajardo chipped in 15 and 14, respectively.