RISK-REWARD GUY
On the night when NLEx won its PBA Commissioner’s Cup opener the hard way, Robert Bolick led the way as usual.
That was not lost on coach Jong Uichico as he paid tribute to Bolick’s starring role in the 84-81 comeback victory over Blackwater—which the prolific gunslinger highlighted with a crucial triple down the stretch at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
“It’s his game, and that’s what he was born to do,” Uichico said. “Not everyone is willing to take the (crucial) shots because you can lose, you can win. But Berto (Bolick) has the DNA to take that shot and take that burden.”
Bolick fired 13 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, when NLEx was finally able to overhaul a 16-point deficit early and take command.
His three off David Murrell with 37 seconds would give the Road Warriors the breathing room at 84-81—and what turned out to be the final score. Bolick would then casually walk stone-faced after the shot, before exchanging high fives with his teammates upon returning to the bench.
“These are the kind of games you want,” Bolick said. “It just so happened that I was in a good spot to isolate and take the shot.”
Performances like this will be crucial in Bolick and the Road Warriors’ quest to go deep in the conference, after their hot start in the Philippine Cup fizzled late before being shown the door by the San Miguel Beermen in the quarterfinals.
Defeating Blackwater is something NLEx hopes would be a good momentum-builder as it faces some of the league’s elite teams this month.
The Road Warriors battle the Magnolia Hotshots on Sunday at the Ynares Center Montalban in Rodriguez, Rizal, before facing Bol Bol and the TNT Tropang 5G on March 22 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum and crowd-favorite Barangay Ginebra on March 27, also at the Big Dome.
Import Cady Lalanne added 22 points and 16 rebounds, but Uichico acknowledged that he wants to see more out of his reinforcement moving forward.
“He’s a system player and that’s how Cady plays,” said Uichico. “Nothing against him because that’s just how he is, but he has to learn to find ways to score more within the system.”
Blackwater dropped its opening assignment as Sedrick Barefield scored 18 points and import Daniel Ochefu tallied 16 points and 16 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Converge shoots for a second straight win when it faces Terrafirma, also eyeing a 2-0 start, at 5 p.m. of the Saturday doubleheader in Rodriguez.
Rain or Shine starts off the conference opposite the guest team Macau Black Knights, smarting from their 102-94 defeat to the FiberXers on opening night on Wednesday.
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