By REYNALD MAGALLON
Robert Bolick turned to his teammates first and then delivered when needed the most as NLEX clinched a twice-to-beat advantage with a gutsy 107-99 victory over Magnolia in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Friday, June 6.
The Road Warriors worked collectively and overhauled an early double-digit deficit and then rode on the broad shoulders of Bolick who fired 21 of his 25 points in the second half to propel his team to the top of the standings with an 8-3 record and, more importantly, claim the quarterfinals bonus.
But unlike in the past seasons, Bolick, who had nine rebounds and five assists to add to his statline, had plenty of help from the rest of the team with Xyrus Torres firing 22 points spiked by four triples and Brandon Ramirez contributing 18 points and nine rebounds.
A stretch in the third frame even typified the contribution of the teammates of Bolick as Torres, Ramirez, Javee Mocon, Jonnel Policarpio and Kevin Alas picked up the mantle and helped NLEX establish the much-needed separation, 96-80, with five minutes left in the game.
Policarpio finished with 12 points and six rebounds while Mocon and Alas had 10 and nine respectively.
But of course, Bolick remained the star of the show as he buried the back-to-back four pointers that broke the last deadlock of the game at 64-all midway through the third frame.
Meanwhile, TNT allowed Blackwater to hang around in the first frame before deciding to break the game wide open in the middle quarters to cruise to a 108-82 victory.
The Tropang 5G tightened up their defensive screws and forced the Bossing to consecutive turnovers to fuel their offensive explosion that saw them score over 30 points in both second and third quarters.
There was simply no signs of slowing down for TNT as Simon Enciso first fired 11 of his 19 points in the 30-18 TNT turnaround in the second frame. Calvin Oftana kept it going for the Tropang 5G and dropped 10 of his 14 in another 33-21 scoring in the third.
As a team, TNT buried 16 triples on its way to tying the longest win streak of any team in this conference at six and closing in to the Top 4 spot and the twice-to-beat advantage after hiking their record to a 6-3 record.
Kelly Williams finished with 15 points and seven rebounds as JP Erram contributed 11 points and six rebounds. Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser chipped in 12 while Kim Aurin added 10 on top of four steals.
Aside from a competitive first quarter that saw it trail by two, 22-24, Blackwater simply faded to its sixth straight defeat.
