THE ROBERT BOLICK-TO-GILAS BLOG

Almost a year ago, Gilas Pilipinas was struggling in the 2025 SEA Games. As if it weren't enough that Thailand imposed a lot of restrictions that messed up the talent pool, the road to the gold medal wasn't exactly easy either.

The Philippines used to decimate our Southeast Asian neighbors as if we were the Dream Team. And to think that we had amateurs representing the country back then, with a couple of players who couldn't even make a PBA team's rotation.

Anyway, against all odds, Gilas Pilipinas managed to win the gold medal, continuing our unrivaled legacy as the basketball kings of the region.

And who did we have to thank for that?

Well, one of those guys was Robert Bolick.

And yeah, I know Bolick is now in his 30s, but his experience, as well as his ability to create his own shots, made him an integral part of our gold-winning charge.

Now, for some reason, the Gilas Pilipinas 14-man pool had four point guards and no Bolick.

I mean, it's not like his game stagnated after the SEA Games. The NLEX Road Warriors may have yet to win a PBA championship, but if he is able to wheel the team to at least a Finals appearance and win a Best Player of the Conference award, Berto might be in line to win the MVP award.

Yes, I know June Mar Fajardo is still the favorite, with RJ Abarrientos being his most logical opponent since they won the first two BPC awards of the season. But JMF is slowly getting back to his game, while RJ's Ginebra is struggling at the moment.

Meanwhile, Jimmy Alapag's first two losses as NLEX head coach happened because Terrafirma went insane in their first defeat, while DeQuan Jones got injured in the TNT game, which led them to play importless against the Converge FiberXers.

Nonetheless, Bolick is universally seen as the glue that holds the Road Warriors together.

So, why isn't he part of the Gilas program?

If this were any other window, I wouldn't question this. Justin Brownlee will always be the team's primary scorer, with Dwight Ramos seconding him. That said, except for Juan Gomez de Liano, a player almost seven years his junior, none of the guards they have on their roster have the ability to go Jimmy Alapag or Jayson Castro on their opponents.

From the start of the Gilas Pilipinas program, our strength has always been our cold-blooded guards who would either unload a mind-numbing triple or simply run circles around an opponent's defense to drive for a layup.

In his two stints with Gilas back in 2019 and 2023, Bolick has a combined average of 9.0 PPG, 1.6 RPG, and 0.9 APG. And he did this as a guy off the bench, much like what Juan GDL did against New Zealand.

Yes, Bolick and Juan GDL's playing styles may be too similar, but you need to have that kind of player, especially without Justin Brownlee.

Tim Cone has players who would follow his bidding, but again, except for Juan GDL and probably CJay Perez, none of these players can create their own shots. This is why I wanted Gilas to have wildcards like Juan GDL and Bolick.

And yeah, it's not like Bolick is bulletproof by any means. When he's hot, he's hot, and when he's cold, he makes rash decisions. But so does RJ.

And I'm not really hating on RJ Abarrientos, but his biggest strength, his shooting, has yet to appear in the four games he has played so far. Abarrientos averaged 0.8 makes on 4.3 attempts, and he failed to convert on a triple in those appearances.

Chris Newsome also hasn't been the player we once knew. Aside from the fact that his Gilas numbers are down from what they once were, his game is also showing signs of age in the PBA.

I would think a 36-year-old Newsome can be subbed out for a 33-year-old Bolick, especially with an injured naturalized player.

As for Scottie Thompson, well, he's a different kind of player. The dude gets his team fired up whenever he grabs a rebound, especially against bigger opponents. He's a game changer in another way, but in terms of shot-making, I don't know if he's on par with Bolick, especially given his scoring average from the previous window.

That said, I hope Tim Cone got it right.

I really believe that the biggest reason why Bolick isn't part of Gilas is that his game is similar to Juan GDL's. But I really think Berto needs to have one final chance to represent the country in an important tournament.

Gilas Pilipinas has always found success with an offensive-minded shock trooper who loves to veer away from the set plays. Over the years, we have had the likes of Paul Lee, Terrence Romeo, CJ Perez, Rhenz Abando, and Juan GDL. Again, without a naturalized player, we need someone who is willing to take risks rather than a player who would rather play it safe and avoid getting the ire of the coach. Bolick made his mark in the 2019 FIBA World Cup, where Yeng Guiao was the team's head coach.

If he's not playing in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers, then he's bound to get some burn in the Asian Games.

I guess by then, if he does well, as we hope he will, they'll have to let him play in the main team.