ROBERT BOLICK'S GOAL? TURN NLEX TEAMMATES TO HOUSEHOLD NAMES
NLEX players may not be household names in the PBA, but Road Warriors star Robert Bolick will be the first to tell that they are among the hard workers in the league – a reason why he is doubling the effort to give opportunities to his teammates.
Bolick said the effort of the entire team, especially the young ones who are out to make a name for themselves in the league, are the reason for NLEX’s solid showing in the PBA 49th Season Philippine Cup where the Road Warriors hold a 6-1 win-loss record through seven games in the tournament.
READ: NLEX becomes unlikely PBA co-leader after turning back Converge
"Credit din sa teammates ko. Kapag tinignan mo ‘yung mga pangalan ng mga (players) namin, hindi sila ganun ka-sikat pero pag nakita niyo sila sa practice, grabe sila mag-trabaho," said Bolick, already one of the elder players at NLEX at 29 years old.
Among the players that are contributing to NLEX is its rookies Xyrus Torres, Brandon Ramirez, and JB Bahio, all of which came late in the season after fulfilling their contractual obligations with their previous MPBL teams.
Bahio was even a late pick-up as he was drafted in the Season 48 draft in the third round by Terrafirma before signing him from the free agent pool.
PHOTO: Mark Cristino
The three contributed to NLEX’s 88-83 win over Converge with Torres making 18 points, Bahio contributing nine points and nine rebounds, and Ramirez adding eight points and two rebounds for their team.
The three players are alse one of the reasons why Bolick has dished out a lot of assists this conference. Bolick had 19 points and 10 assists in the win over Converge, making it the second time that he hit double-double in those statistical departments after going for 23 points and 12 assists against Rain or Shine last April 12.
"Credit din talaga, ang tatapang ng mga bata. Wala akong masabi sa mga rookies namin. Hopefully, pag nilalabas din namin ‘yung mga pangalan nila para sumikat at mabigyan din sila magandang kontrata.
Nakakatulong din tayo sa kanila. Siyempre may mga pamilya din ‘yun, nasa mga rookie contract. At least, kahit papaano, masabi na nakakatulong ako sa kanila na umangat ‘yung laro nila," said Bolick.
Bolick said there was a concerted effort to get more players involved in the team so that they can be developed and make NLEX a deeper squad.
"Nandiyan naman talaga sila. Nung offseason, lagi kami nag-uusap ni coach kung paano namin mapapaganda ‘yung team. Credit talaga kay coach. Sabi niya, dapat hindi lang ‘yung bigyan mo tapos tira lang. Bigyan mo rin sila ng kumpiyansa na kaya rin nila umatake, hindi puwedeng stay lang lagi," said Bolick.
Following the match-up against Converge, the rookies and the rest of NLEX will get another test, this time against reigning champion Meralco on Sunday at the Philsports Arena.
2025-05-24T16:10:41Z