By REYNALD MAGALLON
Newly acquired NLEX guard Robert Bolick was obviously far from his tip-top shape during his PBA Season 48 debut as the Road Warriors suffered a sorry 113-101 loss to TNT Tropang Giga at the PhilSports Arena on Wednesday, Dec. 13.
In his first game back since playing briefly with the Fukushima Firebonds in the Japan B. League, Bolick was merely a shade of his old, lethal self when was still carrying the mantle at NorthPort last season.
Only joining the Road Warriors practice a day before the contest following the trade between NLEX and NorthPort on Sunday, Bolick still had plenty of run time on the floor, finishing with nine points, four assists and a rebound in 33 minutes of play.
Bolick politely declined to be interviewed at the end of the contest but bared that the conditioning simply was not there yet having spent the last two months since his return to the country without a team.
“Mahirap pag two months (wala), di nga tumatama layup ko sa board,” said Bolick as he excused himself from the interview.
Bolick did seem to be still adjusting in his return, evident with the lackluster shooting that saw him shoot a 2-of-8 clip from the field while also missing all of his two tries from deep.
Despite the obvious struggles, NLEX got a glimpse of how the team would look like with the high-scoring guard in tow especially after signing him to a two-year deal on Tuesday, Dec. 12.
