By JONAS TERRADO
NorthPort’s Robert Bolick emerged as the leader of two statistical categories among locals before the PBA Governors’ Cup went on an indefinite break due to the COVID-19 surge.
The third-year guard continued to show why he has become one of the league’s rising stars, leading the season-ending tournament in scoring at 20.5 points and assists at 9.3 per contest.
His stellar numbers, however, have not translated into success for NorthPort which has lost all four games this conference, something Bolick and company will look to end once the PBA resumes.
Terrafirma’s Juami Tiongson is second among Filipino players in scoring at 18.4 points followed by TNT rookie Mikey Williams (18.3), Phoenix Super LPG’s Chris Banchero (18.0) and Rain or Shine’s Rey Nambatac.
Ranked second in assists is Magnolia Pambansang Manok’s Jio Jalalon at 7.3 with Phoenix’s Matthew Wright (6.6), newly-signed Barangay Ginebra San Miguel guard Nards Pinto (5.5) and NLEX’s Kevin Alas (5.0) rounding out the top five.
Jalalon’s performance has improved from the previous conference, helping Magnolia hold top spot in the standings at 3-0.
Meralco’s Raymond Almazan is ahead in rebounds with a two-game average of 9.5 with NorthPort’s Greg Slaughter closely second at 9.3 and Magnolia’s Calvin Abueva in third at 8.7 per game.
Almazan also leads the conference in blocks at 2.0 ahead of Ginebra’s Japeth Aguilar (1.5), Magnolia’s Aris Dionisio (1.33), Slaughter and TNT’s Poy Erram (1.3 each).
His solid play is one of the reasons why Meralco is off to a 2-0 start, picking up where it left off in the Philippine Cup when it finished second in the eliminations before reaching the semifinals.
Banchero and Wright are tied for the lead in steals at 2.4 per game, barely ahead of Jalalon with a 2.3 average.
