ROBERT Bolick wasn’t particularly happy with how NLEX played its last game of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Not even the Road Warriors clinching the top spot after the 12-game elimination round campaign could brighten Berto's mood after his squad needed extra five minutes to beat the hapless Titan Ultra Giant Risers, 123-112, on Tuesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
READ: NLEX clinches No. 1 seed with OT win as Titan Ultra blows chances
For Bolick, who finished with a triple-double of 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in the win, he’s not particularly happy with how they’ve been squeaking past teams – exciting as those wins may have been.
He knows that the longer they play with fire, the bigger the chances of them getting burned.
“Dapat hindi ganito yung laro namin. Sabi nga ni coach hindi pwede yung pili-pili ng laban. Hindi naman kami superior team na pwede mag-relax e,” Bolick said.
“Yung mga depensa na tinatake for granted namin, papuntang playoffs. Sa playoffs, every possession counts so dapat ready to play kami lahat. Sana maging eye-opener to. Halos lahat ng games laging ganun e,” he continued.
“Baka pag-dating sa dulo hindi papabor samin. Dapat hindi kami malagay sa ganitong situation.”
A middle-of-the-pack squad for the longest time, the do-it-all guard out of San Beda believes his team should start acting – and playing – like a contender if they want to keep their aspirations of getting deep into the playoffs.
Having that contender’s mentality would be crucial for the Road Warriors, especially with the possibility of facing either San Miguel or TNT as the reward of claiming the conference’s top seed.
“Dapat may standard kami. Dati nasa baba lang kami palagi e. Makapasok sa eight masaya na kami, ngayon sa sistema ni coach, sa gabay ni coach ang ganda ng pinapakita namin. Dapat andun kami sa standard na yun,” he said.
“A win is a win pero hindi maganda ang ganitong klaseng panalo. Muntik kami matalo kanina e dapat ready to play kami kahit sino makalaban namin kasi yung eighth spot hindi talunan na team, may championship experience yan.”
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