MANILA – Robert Bolick Jr. drilled clutch three-pointers in the endgame as NLEX Road Warriors scored a 103-97 victory over Blackwater Bossing in the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup last night at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
Holding to a slim 97-94 lead with over a minute left, Bolick converted a three-pointer to widen the Road Warriors’ lead to 100-97. After the Bossing cut the deficit to 97-100, Bolick connected anew from the outside to secure the win.
Bolick finished with a near triple-double of 21 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists, as the Road Warriors secured its fourth consecutive victory to improve to a 4-1 win-loss slate.
“Tulad nga ng sinasabi ni coach Frankie (Lim) ‘Mabuti na lang may Bolick kami’,” said Road Warriors assistant coach Borgie Hermida. “Ninety percent of the time kay Bolick ang bola and 90 percent of the time, he does good decisions.”
“You know what’s good with Robert is he produces a lot of scores for us, but if you will look at the assist department, magaling din siyang pumasa eh like in this game he has nine assists,” he added.
Bolick, for his part, credited his supporting casts led by rookies Dominick Fajardo, Negrense Jhan Nermal and Richie Rodger, and Anthony Semerad, as the formed the small ball that secured them the come-from-behind win.
Nermal finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, Fajardo tallied a career-high of 14 points, mostly in the fourth quarter, while Semerad and Rodger combined for 20 points for the Road Warriors.
“Talagang nagtulong-tulong lang kami sa panalong ito,” Bolick said. “Actually, si Dominick maganda ang nilaro eh, isa siya sa mga reasons ng panalo namin. Sarap sa feeling na lahat kami nag-contribute.”
“Actually, that small ball has done wonders for us. In our previous game, ‘yun din ang lineup namin eh, and has doing us positive things talaga, so we stuck with it,” Hermida added.
Rey Suerte top-scored for Bossing with 21 points, but missed five crucial free throws in the endgame, Rey Nambatac and Jeth Troy Rosario chipped in 16 markers apiece. They dropped to 3-1./PN
BOX SCORE:
NLEX 103 – Bolick 21, Nermal 16, Herndon 14, Fajardo 14, Amer 12, Semerad 11, Rodger 9, Marcelo 4, Valdez 2, Miranda 0, Pascual 0.
BLACKWATER 97 – Suerte 21, Rosario 16, Nambatac 16, Tungcab 15, Guinto 12, Ilagan 8, David 4, Yap 3, Escoto 2, Sena 0, Hill 0, Kwekuteye 0, Jopia 0.
Quarterscores: 22-26, 50-51, 71-72, 103-97.
