Bolick pushes NLEX forward
Robert Bolick is back in his element in the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup.
Fully unleashed as the go-to guy of the Road Warriors, Bolick proved to be a certified gunner who can dominate while dishing out solid numbers in rebounding and assists.
Bolick has been on a tear in his PBA comeback after a brief stint in Japan.
This was on full display last week when Bolick rifled in 26 points followed by a new career-high 46 markers to power NLEX to back-to-back wins for a 3-1 win-loss record and joint third behind unbeaten Blackwater (3-0) and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (2-0).
Bolick willed the Road Warriors back from 10 points down in their 96-93 steal over Meralco last Wednesday, greasing their game-changing 35-25 salvo in the fourth with his 16-point outburst.
Three days later, the former San Beda standout produced the highest scoring output for a local in Season 48 — supplanting TNT star Calvin Oftana’s 37 in the previous conference — to tow NLEX past Converge, 115-93.
For his master class performance highlighted by averages of 36 points he collected from an impressive 59 percent field goal shooting and 39 percent three-point clip, 6.5 rebounds and six assists earned him the nod as the PBA Press Corps-Pilipinas Live Player of the Week for the period 6-10 March.
“Good thing we have Bolick with us,” coach Frankie Lim said after their escape act versus the Bolts.
“You could only imagine what will happen to us if he wasn’t here.”
The pride of Leyte found his way to NLEX from his original team NorthPort last December.
He played four games with the Road Warriors in the tail end of the Commissioner’s Cup.
Now, he’s making the most of his stint in the all-Filipino conference.
Though it was a glorious moment resetting his previous high of 44 from his NorthPort days by two against the FiberXers, Bolick was more elated by the win his team got.
“I’m focused on winning. It’s just an individual achievement (career-high), this is a team sport,” he said.
“I’m happy we won and happy that my teammates are here to play. Whoever coach fielded, they surely delivered. Hopefully, we could sustain this,” added Bolick, who gets added inspiration from being a father in a few months.