Earning membership to the Mythical First Team should give Robert Bolick reasons to chase bigger accolades going into the PBA season.
But Bolick insists that he’s more concerned about putting NLEX in a situation of exceeding what it had achieved in the Philippine Cup when the Road Warriors came up one win short of a semifinals berth.
‘I really want to get this team into the semifinals. We just have to continue what we did last conference and carry that momentum to this conference,’ Bolick told The Inquirer in Filipino as he and NLEX are set to open up their season-opening all-Filipino campaign on Wednesday against San Miguel Beer at Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
Bolick wound up second in the race for the Most Valuable Player, which was ruled once more by San Miguel’s June Mar Fajardo for a record-extending ninth time.
A deeper run by the Road Warriors on a consistent basis may raise Bolick’s chances, something that the prolific guard acknowledges.
But NLEX may be in for some pitfalls, given that some of the teams in the middle of the pack can pose as spoilers, namely Converge and Rain or Shine, the one that eliminated Bolick and the Road Warriors in the quarters despite a twice-to-beat advantage.
‘It’s going to be tough because there are a lot of strong teams out there,’ Bolick said. ‘Hopefully, we can sneak into the semis, get there on a consistent basis, and who knows, maybe I could get a better chance at the Best Player of the Conference, or beat June Mar for the MVP award.
‘But my main focus and mindset is to make the team successful. If we achieve our goals, then the individual awards could follow,’ he added.
Bolick averaged 20.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, a league-best 7.6 assists and 1.0 steals in 40 games for the Road Warriors, undoubtedly his best season yet.
NLEX, however, got booted out in the quarters of the Governors’ Cup and lost to Magnolia in a playoff for No. 8 in the Commissioner’s Cup.