MANILA, Philippines—Not leaving anything to chance, NorthPort team manager Bonnie Tan said prized rookie Robert Bolick decided to undergo surgery instead of going through rehab to assure his full recovery from an ACL injury.
Tan’s post on Twitter also confirmed earlier reports that rising guard Robert Bolick had suffered an ACL injury in his right knee in the Batang Pier’s 127-119 win over San Miguel Beer last Oct. 23.
“Robert Bolick suffered a partial ACL tear in his last game against SMB. To address the ACL tear, Bolick opted to go through surgery rather than rehab to ensure full recovery. The Batang Pier Team will play without him for the next 6 months,” Tan wrote on Twitter Wednesday.
The 24-year-old Bolick, who went under the knife on Wednesday, is one of the favorites to win Rookie of the Year along with Columbian’s CJ Perez.
The former San Beda standout averaged 12.9 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists through seven games in the ongoing Governors’ Cup, helping NorthPort to a 3-4 record which is good for the eighth and last quarterfinals slot.
Minus Bolick, Batang Pier will have to draw more production from their versatile import Michael Qualls and newly-acquired big man Christian Standhardinger.
Qualls and Standhardinger had stellar debuts for NorthPort against San Miguel Beer.
Qualls was all over the floor, finishing with 40 points and 18 rebounds while Standhardinger played heavy minutes and collected 18 points, five rebounds and seven assists in a statement game against the Beermen, who shipped him away for Mo Tautuaa.
NorthPort plays its first game without Bolick on Sunday against Alaska.