JB Bahio and Tony Semerad earned plaudits from Robert Bolick after holding their own against the twin tower tandem of Converge on Friday night.
The star playmaker reprised his role as NLEX’s closer time and again to deliver the 88-83 victory. Still, he deflected much of the credit to his big men for going toe-to-toe against budding stars Justin Arana and Justine Baltazar.
“Grabe si Bahio, sina Tony,” he said moments after their exciting triumph at the Philsports Arena in Pasig that stretched their win streak to six — and forged a tie with Magnolia atop the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup standings.
“Lakas ‘yung dalawa, twin tower talaga pero tingnan mo ‘yung rebounds, dumikit kami. Credit talaga sa dalawang ‘yun.”
Both Baltazar and Arana got their usual numbers to lead the FiberXers. The 2024 no.1 pick registered 21 points and 10 rebounds, while the 6-foot-6 slotman notched a personal double-double with 12 and 12.
The former college stars accounted for 22 of Converge’s 41 boards, but their team hardly won the rebounding battle, with NLEX hauling down 38.
Nine of those boards came from the 6-foot-5 Bahio, who laced his stats with nine points, four assists, and a steal. The San Beda product once again showed flashes that he can become a Swiss Army knife for Coach Jong Uichico.
And Semerad? The 34-year-old — now the oldest in this lineup with Dave Marcelo and Jake Pascual still on the I/R list — made it harder for the opposing frontline with his bruising presence, particularly in box-outs and on D.
He also made quite a contribution on offense, knocking down a pair of three-pointers to ultimately finish with 10 points. He also became one of four players who wound up in double figures for the unit of Coach Jong Uichico.
(C) PBA Images
“Mga big man namin ibang klase,” said Bolick, who led the way with 19 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds. “Kung hindi dahil sa kanila, hindi kami nag-6-1. Sila talaga ‘yung malaking contributor sa team namin.”
But not to be forgotten are the efforts of their other bigs. Dominick Fajardo collected eight points and four rebounds, including the team’s last two offensive boards to help prevent Converge from cutting the lead further.
The first of those two even led to the booming triple off a pullup courtesy of Bolick with 2:48 to go, which extended their lead to eight, 86-78.
Bolick scored the team’s last five points, although the one who helped set up the Road Warriors’ strong closeout was another Red Lion in Javee Mocon. He went on to finish with 10 points and seven rebounds.
Wide-bodied Brandon Ramirez did his part as well in challenging their foes — some of which were actually his teammates in Pampanga during their MPBL days — as he came through with eight points and a pair of boards.
“Masaya talaga ako sa teammates ko,” lauded Bolick. “Ibang klase ‘yung pinakita ng mga batang ‘to. Rookie pero ‘yun nga, binibigyan namin sila ng kumpiyansa; binibigyan sila ng kumpiyansa ni Coach.
“Grabe sila magtrabaho. Sabi ko nga, malakas talaga ‘yung Converge talent-wise pero sabi ko lagyan lang natin ng effort, for sure mananalo tayo. Credit sa teammates ko.”
#WATCH: Coach Jong Uichico and Robert Bolick breathe a sigh of relief after surviving Converge’s late rally to keep NLEX’s streak alive 🏀
📹 @justinebacnis /Tiebreaker Times#PBA2025 pic.twitter.com/Zj4KK7e7Qr
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) May 23, 2025
