NLEX Road Warriors superstar guard Robert Bolick is in line to win his first-ever Best Player of the Conference award as he leads the statistical points (SP) standings at the end of the PBA Governors’ Cup elimination round.
Bolick, a five-year veteran, accrued 37.1 SPs after 12 games for NLEX as he posted per-game averages of 17.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 8.0 assists, and 0.7 steals. His 17.2 points per game are tied for fifth with Cjay Perez of the San Miguel Beermen, while his 8.0 assists are second only to Maverick Ahanmisi of the Terrafirma Dyip.
Crucially for Berto, his Road Warriors looked primed for a deep run after finishing No. 1 in Group A and drawing the Phoenix Fuel Masters, the fourth seed of Group B, in the quarterfinals. As of this writing, Bolick’s NLEX side is now up 1-0 after escaping Phoenix, 97-92, in Game 1.
Ahanmisi Finishes Second Behind Bolick as Converge Stars Rise
Speaking of Ahanmisi, the veteran guard showed he still has plenty of game left after finishing second to Bolick with 35.7 SPs on 16.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, 8.5 assists (tops in the league), and 1.2 steals. On numbers alone, the elder Ahanmisi would’ve finished above Bolick if not for his disadvantage in won-games bonus SPs (50 to 90). Sadly for the Dyip point guard, he won’t be in contention any longer as Terrafirma didn’t make the playoffs.
That isn’t the case for a trio of Converge FiberXers stars in Justin Arana, Justine Baltazar and Juan Gomez de Liaño, who finished third, fourth, and fifth in the BPC race, respectively.
Arana, ranked third with 34.7 SPs, put up 18.9 points (second overall), 7.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists, while Baltazar, ranked fourth with 34.2 SPs, averaged 15.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.8 blocks. JGDL isn’t far behind at fifth with 33.8 SPs on per-game averages of 14.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 7.8 assists (third). All three got a big boost from won-game bonus SPs, earning 80 after the FiberXers finished 8-4 in the elims.
The Kraken That Is Lurking
The top five in the BPC race is notably missing one familiar name in June Mar Fajardo. The 13-time BPC actually isn’t too far off, finishing at No. 6 ahead of the quarterfinals with 33.5 SPs, propped up by 90 won-game bonus SPs and per-game numbers of 12.0 points, 10.7 rebounds (best in the league), 3.3 assists, and 1.9 blocks (second).
Fajardo’s case is notable because he missed San Miguel’s first game of the conference and struggled before the league’s extended break. The nine-time MVP has since been rounding into form, ultimately ending the elimination round averaging 25.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in San Miguel’s last two wins.
The Rest of the Field
Rounding out the top 10 in the SP standings are Schonny Winston, Bolick’s teammate at NLEX; Zavier Lucero of the Magnolia Hotshots; Adrian Nocum of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters; and Fajardo’s fellow Beerman, Cjay Perez.
Winston, who is in the midst of his best conference yet, has 32.6 SPs on per-game averages of 17.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.3 steals. Lucero put up 16.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.3 blocks for 32.4 SPs, while Nocum averaged 18.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.4 steals for 32.3 SPs.
Finally, Perez finished with 30.3 SPs built on 17.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.4 steals. He also missed four games earlier in the conference.
Perez and everyone else in the top 10 except Ahanmisi are all still in the running for BPC and could add much-needed SPs in the best-of-five quarterfinals.
