CHICAGO - Under the backdrop of the alleged restlessness that is stewing within their team, NLEX opened its PBA Philippine Cup campaign last Saturday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
It didn't turn out so pretty as the Road Warriors stumbled to a false start and trailed by as many as 15 points before losing to San Miguel, 98-89.
READ Bolick denies rift with NLEX coach Jong Uichico
Robert Bolick, the center of the maelstrom, had a box score-stuffing performance which saw him dish eight assists, grab three rebounds and snatch three steals.
But he proved deficient in scoring, producing only 12 points on 2-for-11 shooting from the field. He went 0-for-1 from 3, 0-for-3 from 4 and 8-for-8 from the free throw line in 42 minutes and 43 seconds of action.
Bolick, by my count, missed three easy lay-ups, which is unusual. Curiously, his 11 field goal attempts were 4.5 shy of his average per game in the Commissioner's Cup.
NLEX, as a whole, shot the ball poorly, 35.4 percent overall (29-of-82) and 21.4 percent from rainbow country (6-of-28).
THIRSTY FOR P.T.
Enoch Valdez, who's reportedly unhappy with his usage, was inserted in the starting line-up but ended up logging only 9:28 of action.
After a sloppy night at the gym, the Road Warriors slipped to 0-1. Not an ideal situation for a team that had a very low ceiling in the PBA's historic Season 50.
It's only the first game of several in the elimination round but coach Jong Uichico has a powder keg that can potentially blow up at a moment's notice.
I'm hoping for a swift turnaround but history has shown that distraction often results in destruction.
After a seven-day lull, a weird schedule gap to say the least, the Road Warriors will pull up at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Saturday to face the always energetic and wonderfully-coached Rain or Shine.
The second game of a conference that is still in its embryonic stage is never a must-win, but it seems that way for NLEX. An 0-2 hole is devastating in a kiss-of-death kind of way.
SO WHAT WOULD BERTO DO?
"Alam natin natin nagkulang siya sa tira," his camp told me on Friday night. "He will try to score more but he will do it within their system lang," the source added.
It's a lesson in elementary math. If Bolick, who led all locals in scoring (23.5 points per game) last conference, scores, NLEX's chances of win exponentially increases. If he doesn't the team likely suffers am L.
Bolick had a harmless 12 against San Miguel.
While wondering if Bolick's apparent lack of enthusiasm in scoring is a function of his team's system or just unhappiness, I reached out to coach Jong Uichico for answers.
No response.
I figured he's busy.
There are cracks all over his team and the walls are caving.in.
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