Remembering Robert Bolick's 50-Point Game

Without a doubt, the name Robert Lee Bolick is something that we'll probably hear for a long time as he is hailed as one of the next stars not just in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), but more importantly, he will be among the torchbearers for Philippine basketball especially with the country being one of the host countries of the 2023 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Cup.  And the fact that he was included in the Gilas Pilipinas team that played in last year's FIBA World Cup in China where he and CJ Perez were able to make a few heads turn towards their way, it proved one thing: Bolick is just starting to heat things up in the professional ranks as he is expected to shoot the lights out once the PBA is allowed resume.

Three championships in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and a University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) championship in 2013 while playing for the De La Salle Green Archers plus a PBA D-League championship in 2017,  it seems that Robert Bolick has been winning all throughout the basketball career that saw him lead the NCAA in scoring and assists while getting included in multiple Mythical teams. But perhaps, what made Robert Bolick's collegiate career unforgettable was his 50-point performance against the Arellano University Chiefs back in 2018.

The date: August 24: which is now known as 8/24 or Mamba Day as a tribute to the late Kobe Bryant.

The situation: the San Beda Red Lions were coming off their first loss of Season 94 which came at the hands of CJ Perez and the rest of the Lyceum of the Philippines University Pirates.  

Prior to that faithful game, Robert Bolick's career-high was 25 points which he scored against College of Saint Benilde. July of that year. Too.

Who would have thought that just a month after his 25-point performance, Robert Bolick would go on to outscore himself with a 50-point game that made it the highest-scoring game for a player since Bright Akhuetie, then playing for University of Perpetual Help, scored 44 points in 2015? 

Against Arellano, Bolick unloaded 37 points in the second half alone, leading the Red Lions to a 98-79 win against the Chiefs. He shot 18 for 25 from the field including five for nine from the three-point line. In the end, Bolick said back then that the team's goal was "to win a championship" and that's exactly what the Red Lions accomplished and they did it against CJ Perez and the rest of the Pirates. 

And while he has three NCAA championships under his belt, Bolick's 50-point outburst is something that will remain a record for a long time and that alone already makes him one of the greatest collegiate players in the Philippines. Mind you, this was the same guy who used to average 1.8 points per game while playing for nine minutes on average during his stint in Taft Avenue.  

Photo is from BumSports.Ph