MANILA, Philippines – A semifinal appearance in the PBA remains elusive for Robert Bolick.

Bolick suffered another early playoff exit as NLEX got the boot in the Philippine Cup after being swept by Meralco in their best-of-three quarterfinals following a 100-81 drubbing on Sunday, May 12.

Fresh from a career performance that saw him explode for 48 points in their Game 1 loss, Bolick got contained to just 18 points on 6-of-18 shooting as the Road Warriors failed to sustain the gains of their promising start.

“Experience prevailed. The team we faced is a well-oiled machine and well-coached,” said Bolick in a mix of Filipino and English. “We need more experience. The game is different in the playoffs.”

Leaning on the offensive prowess of Bolick, who leads the league in scoring with an average of 28.3 points, NLEX vied for a top-two finish that merits a twice-to-beat bonus in the quarterfinals as it won five of its first six games.

But the Road Warriors hit a slump and slowly slid in the standings after absorbing four straight losses.

Although NLEX ended the eliminations with a win to clinch an outright playoff berth as the No. 7 seed, it proved no match to the battle-tested Bolts, who reached the final four for the seventh time in the last nine conferences.

“The hunger and the killer instinct should be there. We were 5-1, we had a chance at the top two, and then this happened. It is what it is,” said Bolick.

“When we have an opportunity, we should keep stepping on the pedal. But this is normal for an inexperienced team with a lot of young players. We’ll learn.”

Bolick can only keep his fingers crossed that the odds will favor the Road Warriors next season.

“I hope our team makes the semis next time. I hope we learn as a team,” he said. – Rappler.com