PBA

Jarencio marvels at returning Bolick as NorthPort escapes Meralco for first win

In his first game back since re-signing with NorthPort last week, guard Robert Bolick was nothing short of impressive even after missing his team's previous games and practices.

The former San Beda standout poured in 22 points on 7-of-17 shooting while grabbing seven rebounds, six assists, and three steals against Meralco to steer the Batang Pier to their first win in the conference.

With Bolick's all-around performance, NorthPort just snapped its five-game losing streak.

"He attended our practice last Tuesday but because he has commitment with Gilas, he wasn't able to attend the training yesterday," head coach Pido Jarencio said about his ward.

"But we introduced to him our defensive scheme and the game plan. But he knows our game and he memorized everything. We didn't change anything, actually."

Aside from Bolick, Jarencio also gave credit to the rest of his players.

Import Jamel Artis finished with 26 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and three steals while Arwind Santos and Jamie Malonzo put up great efforts, finishing with 16 and 14 markers, respectively.

Jerrick Balanza also a key cog in the win, churning out 12 points and three boards while Troy Rike had 10 markers.

"Actually our 0-5 [record] was all heartbreaking losses. But now, our team is already settled with the new import and also Bolick. We also had chemistry on the floor that's why we won today," Jarencio said.

"It's all about defense. We worked on our defense right after the game against Rain or Shine."

—MGP, GMA News