A FOUR-POINT airball won’t stop Robert Bolick from taking shots from that distance as long as he’s in rhythm.
The NLEX superstar played down his late four-point shot that hit nothing but air in his team’s 100-95 win over Phoenix in the 2024 PBA Governors' Cup on Sunday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
With a late lead, the Road Warriors had a chance to milk the clock before taking a high-percentage shot. Instead, Bolick found some space and took a four-point attempt that never hit the rim, giving the Fuel Masters a chance to still threaten.
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Bolick heaved a sigh of relief as NLEX held on for its second straight win to tie Rain or Shine on top of Group B.
“Shoot talaga yun. Medyo diretso, ang problema lang, nung pag-atras ko, medyo madulas kaya kita mo diretso, na-short lang,” Bolick insisted with a smile after the game.
“Okay lang,” he was quick to add. “Ganun talaga. Andyan naman yan. Pina-practice ko naman yan.”
Bolick admitted it wasn’t a designed play, but won’t hesitate to take another in the future if the opportunity presents itself again.
“Medyo bad decision lang, pero okay lang. Yun yung na-feel ko sa game eh. Tiwala naman mga coaches ko. Kung may opportunity pa rin, why not?”
“Siguro more matured lang dun sa endgame shots,” he added. “Kasi pag nasa laro ka, feel mo eh. Pero yun nga, sabi ni coach, minsan may better shots pa dun. Pero okay lang. Kaya nga every game, may natututunan ka eh.”
One thing the high-scoring guard out of San Beda has already learned is to trust his teammates when defenders deny him.
After all, Bolick embraced being a facilitator, finishing with 11 points on just 12 attempts, nine assists, seven rebounds, and one steal in a little over 40 minutes of play as he deferred to import Myke Henry and the rest of the locals.
“Alam naman namin na talagang ganun sila (Phoenix). Si coach Jamike [Jarin] kilala talaga ako, trap, ganun, so alam ko na yun. So sabi ko sa teammates, be ready and matatanggap niyo yung bola in time,” Bolick said.
“So yung confidence, nandyan naman yung teammates ako. May tiwala ako sa kanila. Walang problema. Nandyan din naman yung import namin, kaya import season ‘to, so hindi masyado,” he added.
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