By REYNALD MAGALLON
NLEX guard Robert Bolick heaved a huge sigh of relief after his two 3-point shots more than made up for his crucial defensive lapses in the waning minutes in the team’s scary 103-97 win over Blackwater in the PBA Philippine Cup Wednesday, March 13, at the PhilSports Arena.
Bolick played the hero anew for the Road Warriors when he buried two back-breaking triples that kept the Road Warriors on the rear despite repeated rallies from the Bossing.
The heroics, however, came after the high-scoring guard made crucial defensive lapses that led to him fouling and sending Blackwater guard Rey Suerte to the foul line twice inside the last two minutes.
“Gusto ko mag-sorry kay coach Jong two defensive lapses sa dulo buti nalang nabawi ko sa three points kundi patay ako,” said Bolick after the game that saw him keep his blazing performance scorching with a near-triple-double showing of 21 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
Good thing, Suerte split his first trip to the foul line enough to only time the game at 92-all before missing all of his two free throws altogether in the second trip that could have tied the game once more at 94 with 1:44 left.
Instead, NLEX went on with the 11-2 finishing kick that handed Blackwater its first taste of defeat.
Still, even with the late game lapses defensively, it couldn’t take away how great of an impact Bolick has been so far for NLEX especially after coming off a Player of the Week honor where he averaged 36 point, 6.5 rebounds and 6.0 assist through the last two games.
“What’s good about Robert, he produces a lot of scores kung makikita nyo trenta to kwarenta, last game career-high but if you will take a look at the assist department magaling din pumasa si Bolick,” said NLEX assistant coach Borgie Hermida who took the post-game presser in lieu of head coach Frankie Lim
“Every time, 90 percent of the time, yung bola kasi namin na kay Berto so 90 percent of the time good decisions yung ginagawa ni Berto,” he added.
