Robert Bolick reset his career-high in scoring to power NLEX past the luckless Converge, 112-93, for back-to-back wins in the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup, Saturday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The star guard finished with 46 points, two points clear of his previous mark, on a 65-percent clip from the floor, alongside five rebounds and eight assists as the Road Warriors put together their first win streak of the conference.
He already had 36 in the first three quarters, half of which he made in the third quarter where they began to break away toward the 19-point win.
“I told them we cannot let this team hang around. If we’re gonna have a good run, we might as well do it in the third. I’m just happy for my players, especially this guy. That’s a new career-high,” said head coach Frankie Lim.
But it wasn’t all Bolick that propelled NLEX to a 3-1 record in the standings. Robbie Herndon punched in 17 points off the bench, including 12 in the fourth that saw the crew bring their lead to as high as 22, 99-77, with 5:02 left.
Rookie Jhan Nermal supplied 13 points, while Baser Amer chipped in 10 markers as the bench mob contributed 56 points in the triumph.
The Road Warriors will look to extend their win streak against current leader Blackwater (3-0) on March 13, Wednesday, 4:30 at the Philsports Arena.
Converge, meanwhile, was led by Justin Arana with 20 points, five rebounds, and four assists in its fourth loss in as many outings.
Bryan Santos, though, was among the few bright spots with 18 points as the rookie big man continues to provide solidly. Alec Stockton made 13 points while Deschon Winston chipped in 10 markers in the loss.
The FiberXers will have another tough assignment coming up as they welcome the debuting Magnolia on March 16 in a venue to be announced soon.
The Scores:
NLEX 115 – Bolick 46, Herndon 17, Nermal 13, Amer 10, Ular 6, Valdez 5, Nieto 4, Semerad 4, Charcos 3, Rodger 3, Fajardo 2, Marcelo 2, Pascual 0, Miranda 0.
Converge 93 – Arana 20, Santos 18, Stockton 13, Winston 10, Ambohot 8, Melecio 5, Delos Santos 4, Vigan 4, Fornilos 3, Balanza 3, Nieto 3, Zaldivar 2, Caralipio 0, Maagdenberg 0.
Quarterscores: 24-28, 54-52, 84-71, 115-93.
