Given his shot, new Red Lion Robert Bolick looks to repay Jarin’s trust

MANILA, Philippines – With more playing time now under his belt, one of the newest members of the San Beda Red Lions, Robert Bolick, is looking to repay the trust being shown by head coach Jamike Jarin.

Bolick, a starter for San Beda in the FilOil preseason tournament, had a flawless performance on Thursday, May 26, finishing with 15 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field and 5-of-5 from the foul stripe in only 16 minutes. The Red Lions won that game, beating Mapua, 106-80, and improving to 3-1 in the tourney.

“I play more minutes na ngayon, tapos Coach Jamike trusts me. Hindi ko alam ano nakita niya saakin. Sa La Salle, bench lang naman ako. Just mas mataas confidence ko ngayon,” he told Rappler afterwards.

(I play more minutes now, and Coach Jamike trusts me. I don’t know what he saw in me. In La Salle, I was just riding the bench. My confidence is higher now.)

Bolick was part of La Salle’s 2013 title team when he was a rookie and played for the team in 2014 before transferring to San Beda.

The former La Salle Greenhills standout played just 21 games total in his UAAP career, averaging 6.8 minutes and 1.1 points a game, per humblebola stats.

(READ: Tough love: how criticism from Aby sparked Bolick’s perfect game)

“Syempre as a player pag nag sasabi sayo coach na kailangan ka, syempre kailangan mo mag work. So nag tratrabaho lang din ako,” said Bolick, eager to prove his worth.

(Of course as a player, when your coach tells you he needs you, of course you need to work. So I’m working hard.)

Like in La Salle, Bolick now plays for a team that usually faces title-or-bust expectations. 

Last NCAA season, San Beda’s bid for a sixth straight title ended in disappointment when it lost to Letran in Game 3 of the finals, 85-82. It was Jarin’s first season coaching the Red Lions.

San Beda also lost key guys from its roster, with Art Dela Cruz and Baser Amer now in the PBA and import Ola Adeogun having played his final year of eligibility.

“Lahat nang nawala saamin, lahat PBA-bound eh,” said Bolick. “So sabi ko kay Coach Jamike, sa mga rookies ngayon, na medyo wag natin tapatan yung expectation nila last year, kasi talagang magagaling yung mga yun eh.

(The guys who departed from us went to the PBA. So I told Coach Jamike and our rookies not to match the expectations from last year, because the players we lost were really good.)

“Laro lang kami sa laro namin,” he continued. “We’re very happy sa mga games namin ngayon.”

(We just need to play our game. We’re very happy with how we’re playing now.)

San Beda faces Letran on Sunday, May 29, to continue its FilOil campaign. – Rappler.com