Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
Robert Bolick took responsibility for Cignal’s 100-90 Game 2 defeat to Racal on Monday in the 2017 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup.
“I’ll take the blame because we didn’t follow our game plan,” he said. “It was my fault, not my team, because I wasn’t playing defense. I’m a defender but guys like Rey (Nambatac) and (Kent) Salado easily scored on us.”
A frustrated Bolick was hard on himself as he felt ashamed for letting down the Hawkeyes especially on the defensive end.
“I made our coaches look like fools because we didn’t follow the game plan. I made my teammates look stupid because I wasn’t able to be the leader for the team. This game is really on me,” he said.
Bolick’s lackluster play rubbed off on the rest of the squad as Cignal played out of sync and unsurprisingly found itself trailing big early, 57-38, in the second quarter.
Though the Hawkeyes waged a third quarter comeback and closed in within five, 67-62, midway in the period, Racal just wanted the game too much as Jackson Corpuz and Rey Nambatac closed the deal out and forced a do-or-die Game 3.
The loss made Bolick feel a bit uneasy after receiving an unexpected Conference Most Valuable Player award, noting that though he’s glad to have been given the feat, it would’ve been better if Cignal swept the series.
“It’s all just blessings, but I don’t want just individual awards. Those are just bonuses on your hardwork,” he said. “It’s not just me. I wouldn’t win if not for my coaches and teammates who continue to trust me. Half of this award is for my team. We’re all MVPs.”
Disappointed with the outcome, Bolick vowed to bounce back stronger for Cignal come Game 3 as he drew motivation with the way he felt his team got embarrassed by Racal.
“They were laughing at us so we’ll really get back at them on Game 3,” he said. “We’ll watch the tapes and look for our mistakes. We’ll come back stronger.”