Holt’s entry to ease burden on Dyip’s top scorer Tiongson

Terrafirma's array of rookies led by top overall selection Stephen Holt injects the youth and dynamism the Dyip sorely need to become a playoff-contending team again.

“We got younger with the big and wingmen we got from the draft,” Terrafirma coach John Cardel said in Filipino.

Stephen Holt FIBA PHOTO

Holt, the Filipino-American combo guard heads this year's draft class, carrying with him an impressive pro basketball resume that includes stints in Australia, Spain, Czech Republic, Poland, Kazakhstan and Romania.

Cardel said Holt's entry eases the scoring burden from 2021 PBA Improved Playet Juami Tiongson, who led the Dyip in scoring with 21.67 points in the PBA On Tour.

“Holt is a combo guard who can really help us in the backcourt, and he'll really complement Juami well,” he added.

With veteran guard Alex Cabagnot now past his prime, a Holt-Tiongson guard combination will give the Dyip the steady scoring, while the Filipino-American could also facilitate the team's offense with his playmaking ability.

The Terrafirma mentor is also happy to draft 6-foot-6 Kemark Carino, who was one of his key rookie targets in the Sunday PBA draft.

“What I like about Carino is he's quick, can play defense and can shoot also,” said Cardel on the 25-year-old big man, whom the team selected 13th overall after tabbing Filipino-American guard Taylor Miller at the close of the first round.

Carino, who played for Gilas in the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers, has overseas stint with the second division team Aomori Wat's in the Japan B.League.

The former Gilas youth big man also played for Marinerong Pilipino in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup.

Adding depth is another Filipino-American guard Taylor Miller, listed at 6-2, played for Westminster College, a Division II school in the U.S., where he averaged 9.36 points, 3.34 rebounds, 2.11 assists, and 1.16 steals in the 76 games played.

“Now we got younger and hopefully, we could address our bench depth and be able to compete because last season, we lost a lot of games, which we felt we could have won,” he added.