Games tomorrow:
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
4:30 p.m. — Rain or Shine vs San Miguel
7:30 p.m. — Ginebra vs Meralco
Just give the ball to Robert Bolick and watch him do magic.
NLEX once again leaned on the shoulders of its most reliable gunner with the game on the line as Bolick sank crucial back-to-back three-pointers to stave off erstwhile unbeaten Blackwater, 103-97, in the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup yesterday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
The Road Warriors head into the long break with their third straight win for a 4-1 win-loss record, thanks to Bolick’s late-game heroics days after setting a career-high in points.
Protecting a three-point lead, the 28-year-old guard from San Beda University knocked down a triple with the shot clock winding down to give the Road Warriors a 100-94 lead with 45.4 seconds remaining.
Bolick again hit a dagger trey to answer Rey Suerte’s triple on the other end to give NLEX another six-point lead in the last 30 seconds that put the Bossing away.
The consecutive treys were Bolick’s only points in the fourth quarter. He finished with 21 points and came an assist and a rebound shy of what could have been his second career triple-double.
More than that, it was a fitting follow up to his personal-best 46 points in their previous outing against Converge, 115-93.
“You know what’s good about Bolick, he produces a lot of scores, ranging from 30 to 40 points. Last game he had his career-high. But if you will take a look at the assist department, Bolick is also good at passing the ball,” NLEX assistant coach Borgie Hermida said.
“So 90 percent of the time the ball is on Berto’s hands and 90 percent of the time he makes good decisions,” added Hermida, who along with Jong Uichico assumed the coaching reins after head tactician Frankie Lim took the day off following a finger injury he sustained during training.
Jhan Nermal scored 13 of his 16 points in the nip-and-tuck fourth quarter, Dominic Fajardo finished with 14 markers while Robert Herndon had a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Road Warriors.
Baser Amer added 12 and Anthony Semerad made 11 for NLEX, which will return to action on 6 April against Magnolia.
Blackwater saw its three-game roll come to a screeching halt at the hands of a team that is still missing the services of injured Sean Anthony.
Suerte had 21 points to pace the Bossing. Troy Rosario and Rey Nambatac got 16 each while Jaydee Tungcab and Bradwyn Guinto posted 15 and 12, respectively, for Blackwater.
Tungcab gave the Bossing a 51-50 lead heading into halftime with a driving layup right at the buzzer.
Blackwater led by as many as 11 in the first half, taking a 23-12 lead after a Rey Nambatac trey with under five minutes left in the opening period.
Nambatac poured in 15 points in the first half, which saw five lead changes.
The scores:
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.
QUARTERS: 22-26, 50-51, 71-72, 103-97.
