Bolick's 44 power NorthPort vs Meralco

Ed Andaya

Oct 24

ROBERT Bolick was again the man of the hour as NorthPort Batang Pier battled back from a 20-point deficit to bring down Meralco, 101-95, in overtime in the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Bolick erupted with a career-high 44 points -- 11 points better than his previous high of 33 points -- to power the Batang Pier of coach Pido Jarencio to a come-from-behind victory over the Bolts and a 2-1 record in the import-flavored conference.
The 27-year-old Bolick, who was selected as No. 3 overall by NorthPort during the 2018 PBA Draft, went 16-of-21 from the floor and 9-of-10 from the free throw line in nearly 51 minutes for the Batang Pier.
That was more than enough to erase his previous-high of 33 points in NorthPort's heartbreaking 104-105 setback to guest team Bay Area Dragons last Sept. 24.
"Ang sarap sa feeling nagbunga yung pinaghirapan n'yo," said Bolick in an interview posted at the official PBA website.
"Laban lang kami. Pagod na kasi kaming laging talo sa dikitan. Di kami nag-give up. Sayang nga 3-0 na sana kami," explained Bolick, referring to NorthPort's last-second loss to Bay Area.
Against Meralco, Bolick had 17 points in the fourth quarter alone to help NorthPort force overtime.
And even with cramps attacking as early as late in the fourth, Bolick opened the extra period with a three-pointer and a drive to the basket to put the Batang Pier ahead to stay,
"Swerte yatang suot ko ang wedding ring ko. Proud ako na married man," said Bolick on what he felt was a lucky charm in his back-to-back career-high games.
Bolick had ample scoring support.
Arwind Santos added 15 points and import Prince Ibeh contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Arvin Tolentino also added 12 markers.
Ibeh's counterpart, Johnny O'Bryant had 30 points and 22 rebounds for Meralco.
Raymond Almazan and Allein Maliksi added 19 and 11 points, respectively.
NorthPort takes a seven-day breather before returning to court against TNT on Oct.8.
Meralco takes on Barangay Ginebra on Sunday, Oct. 2.
The scores:
NorthPort (101) - Bolick 44, Santos 15, Ibeh 12, Tolentino 12, Balanza 7, Caperal 3, Chan 3, Sumang 3, Salado 2, Taha 0, Calma 0, Ferrer 0.
Meralco (95) - O'Bryant 30, Almazan 17, Maliksi 11, Quinto 9, Banchero 8, Black 6, Caram 5, Pasaol 5, Newsome 2, Hodge 2, Pascual 0.
Quarterscores: 17-26, 44-35, 71-61, 89-89, 101-95 (OT) Robert Andaya