Arsenal defender Rob Holding got the better of Saracens fly-half Owen Farrell in their semni-final of the NBA Celebrity Gaming Tournament recently.

Featuring the globally renowned NBA 2K18 game, Holding played as the Boston Celtics, who will feature in the NBA London Game 2018 in January against the Philadelphia 76ers at The O2, while Farrell chose to play as the Oklahoma City Thunder.

And Holding nailed a three-pointer in the opening moments, before some well-worked interior play brought Farrell’s back into it at 8-6.

It was Holding’s Celtics who took control of the game by the second quarter and another stunning three-pointer gave the Gunners man a 19-7 lead.

“You’re battering me!” declared Farrell as the Celtics extended their lead to 26-13 in the third-quarter and, despite the rugby star bringing the score back to 32-28 with a couple of quick baskets, and a big three-pointer, Holding kept his nerve to eventually win the game 52-32.

Holding talked about the influence of the NBA in Arsenal’s dressing room, saying: “Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal are big fans, they follow the NBA regularly, then I know Per Mertesacker and Petr ?ech are also big fans.

“We usually watch the highlights on YouTube in the morning and the top 10 plays of the night as it’s hard to stay up until late if you have a training session in the morning.”

Holding also discussed what Paul George can give to the Thunder next season, adding: “I think he can free up Westbrook a bit, who is a big threat so a lot of teams focus on him. Now with Paul George on the court you can’t just all gamble on Westbrook because he’s obviously such a great shooter, so that should give him a bit more space in offence.”

Farrell then talked about the Golden State Warriors’ chances of retaining the title, adding: “The Warriors are a pretty special team. I can’t see them losing this year, but the Cleveland Cavaliers will always be up there, and can scare them in the NBA Finals.

“I think everyone is making a play for it, but we’ll see how this season pans out first.”

Rob Holding and Owen Farrell were speaking at the NBA 2K18 Celebrity Gaming Tournament. To find out more follow @NBAUK on Twitter and Facebook.