Job’s not yet done for Berto
Following NLEX’s 3-0 sweep of a gallant Phoenix Fuel Masters squad in their PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup best-of-five quarterfinal series, Robert Bolick was quick to dismiss any insinuation that the Best Player of the Conference (BPC) award was already his for the taking.
Understandably so.
After all, the Road Warriors franchise player has finally barged into his first-ever semifinal appearance in conference playoffs. But he knows there is still plenty of work to be done, both for himself and his team.
Since the BPC was introduced in 1994 to help determine the season’s Most Valuable Player, one thing has remained consistent: individual brilliance alone does not guarantee the award. A player’s ability to carry his team to playoff success matters just as much, if not more.
In fact, in the award’s 32-year history, all 83 BPC winners have led their respective teams to at least the conference’s final four.
Even more telling, only 10 of the winners, or roughly 12 percent, failed to lead their teams to the Finals.
The last was Northport’s Arvin Tolentino in the 2025 Commissioner’s Cup, after leading the Batang Pier to the top of the eliminations and eventually a third-place finish.
The other 73 went on to play in the Finals, with most eventually leading their teams to the championship. Of course, the BPC is usually awarded before the Finals series is decided, always before Game 3 or 4, so winning the award does not necessarily mean winning the championship.
For those who won BPC but failed to lead their teams to the Finals, it was almost always a case of statistical dominance and making their teammates look good from the eliminations to the playoffs. It also always had the other BPC contenders falling by the wayside, not in the Finals or not as productive come playoffs time.
For Bolick, the current BPC frontrunner who also collected back-to-back PBA Press Corps Player of the Week citations while steering NLEX into the semifinals, the message is simple: the job is not done.
The Road Warriors are now in the semifinals for only the third time in franchise history. But they want more. Much more. They want a first-ever Finals appearance, something that has eluded the franchise since joining the league in 2014.
Rookie head coach Jimmy Alapag has made them believe they are capable of achieving that, Bolick says.
As for the BPC, it is the farthest thing from his mind right now.
He has long been among the statistical leaders in the race for the award the last couple of seasons but has yet to win it, largely because NLEX had repeatedly failed to advance beyond the quarterfinals.
“Lagi nga tayo No. 1 dyan pero wala naman nangyayari,” he said. “Kaya di ko muna iniisip yan.”
Well that may have finally changed.
And should Bolick lead the Road Warriors to the Finals, it would certainly strengthen his case before the voters, composed primarily of accredited media members, including the PBA Press Corps voting as a group, and active PBA players.
But first, he has to get the job done on the floor.
He will have to continue scoring when it matters, making plays for his teammates, playing defense and providing the leadership and inspiration needed to win three more games in their best-of-five semifinal series beginning 4 December against either Converge or Rain or Shine.
For now, the BPC can wait.
A Finals appearance would be a far greater achievement for Bolick and the Road Warriors. And if the individual award comes with it, it would simply be icing on the cake.
Just as it has been for almost all of the 83 BPC winners of the past 32 years.