By JONAS TERRADO
Robert Bolick was left out of NorthPort’s 25-man lineup for the PBA season restart on Oct. 11 inside the bubble in Clark, Pampanga.
Team manager Bonnie Tan told online sites that NorthPort heeded the advice of renowned orthopedic surgeon Raul Canlas to skip the bubble as to avoid potential risks.
Bolick, who missed the latter part of the 2019 season due to an ACL injury, had been practicing since teams were allowed to practice in late-August, but only limited to doing conditioning and individual drills.
Teams will only be allowed to do 5-on-5 scrimmages once they enter the bubble next week, as per the provisional approval given by the Inter-Agency Task Force.
The runner-up in last season’s Rookie of the Year derby would have given the Batang Pier the much-needed firepower in the resumption of the Philippine Cup.
Instead, he will be among the high-profile players who won’t take part in the PBA bubble.
San Miguel Beer’s June Mar Fajardo is still recovering from an injured shin he suffered in practice last February while Phoenix Super LPG’s bid to include Calvin Abueva in the bubble was denied by the league due to his ongoing suspension.
RR Garcia was re-signed by Phoenix at the last minute to complete its 25-man contingent in Pampanga.
Deadline for submission of lineups for the Clark bubble expired Friday afternoon. PBA ballclubs were allowed to enlist a maximum of 15 players while the remaining 10 slots were reserved for coaches, staff and other essential personnel.
