MANILA, Philippines — Stephen Holt is now officially a Gin King.
The Terrafirma Dyip has traded the do-it-all Holt, last season’s No.1 draft pick, to the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in exchange for Christian Standhardinger, the league announced Saturday morning.
Holt and big man Isaac Go are going to Ginebra in exchange for Filipino-German Standhardinger and guard Stanley Pringle. The two teams will also swap picks in the PBA Draft on Sunday.
This means that Ginebra will pick third, while Dyip will now select 10th.
The pick swap is huge for the Gin Kings, as the draft is top heavy. They could select potential No. 1 picks such as Justine Baltazar, Sedrick Barefield, Kai Ballungay, RJ Abarrientos, Dave Ildefonso and Jonnel Policarpio.
Both Standhardinger and Holt were among the top players of the PBA Philippine Cup last season.
The former, a 35-year-old big man, averaged 21.3 points, 10.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.
The latter, a 32-year-old guard, finished the All-Filipino conference with 21.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game.
The two are in the mix for the PBA Most Valuable Player plum.
Holt is also the leading Rookie of the Year awardee.
Pringle, meanwhile, averaged 9.3 markers, 2.6 boards and 1.7 dimes a game. Go came up big in the middle for the Dyip with 11.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per contest.
Terrafirma head coach Johnedel Cardel said in an interview during the PBA Draft Combine on Wednesday that there were no teams that sent feelers about Holt, and that his star guard “enjoys playing with the team.”
The new players will be a huge boost for Ginebra, who is looking to fill the void left by the injured Jamie Malonzo.