Stephen Holt struggled the entire game, but came through when it mattered most to help the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Gin Kings eke out a 73-71 comeback win over the San Miguel Beermen in Game 1 of the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup semifinals on Wednesday, June 25.

The veteran guard buried a clutch triple — his first and lone field goal of the match — to give the Gin Kings a 70-69 lead late in the fourth after being down by as much as 18 points in the first half.

CJ Perez then continued his brilliance by completing a layup to regain the San Miguel lead, before Troy Rosario calmly sank a pair of free throws for another one-point Ginebra lead, 72-71, with 1:21 left in the game.

San Miguel had an opportunity to make another desperate comeback after Jamie Malonzo missed two charts, but Perez could not secure the rebound.

Holt then sealed it with a split from the stripe as Ginebra drew first blood in the best-of-seven series.

Japeth Aguilar was also huge for Ginebra, scoring seven points as part of a 15-5 run that allowed Ginebra to turn a 55-41 deficit into just a 60-56 advantage heading to the playoff period.

The seasoned big man then came up big early in the fourth, knocking down two layups to further cut the gap to 69-67 before Holt took over to seal the win.

Aguilar top-scored with 18 points alongside nine rebounds, two assists and a block, while Scottie Thompson and Malonzo chipped in 16 and 14 markers apiece.

Holt, who was limited to 1-of-6 from the field, finished with four important points together with seven rebounds and four dimes. (GMA Integrated News)