It was a special kind of week for individual performances in the NCAA Season 94.
And two players from rival schools stood at the forefront of it all.
San Beda’s Robert Bolick and Letran’s Bong Quinto put up performances which will be remembered for a long time – the type that won’t be replicated in the foreseeable future.
This forced the hand of the men and women covering the oldest collegiate tournament in the country to give the Chooks-to-Go NCAA Press Corps Player of the Week award to both of them, the first time in a long while that reporters handed out the weekly individual plum to two players.
Bolick came away with the best scoring performance the league has seen in 44 years as he dropped 50 on a hapless Arellano side as San Beda took a 98-79 win last Friday.
The 6’1” guard out of Leyte made 18 of his 25 shots from the field and all nine of his free throws to put together the second highest scoring output in league history, next only to Lim Eng Beng’s 55 back when La Salle was still in the NCAA.
“You can’t really compare Robert to anyone ‘cause iba-iba sila ng laro but again, nag-iisa lang ang Robert Bolick,” said Red Lions coach Boyet Fernandez.
“August 24, I declare it as Robert Bolick day,” he added.
While Bolick made his mark when it comes to scoring, Quinto pretty much did everything else.
The hulking forward put together two triple-doubles in a span of four days as the Knights swept their last two games of the elimination round with wins over Mapua and Emilio Aguinaldo College.
The former Juniors MVP had averages of 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10.5 assists in that stretch – joining the likes of now-PBA stars Calvin Abueva and Scottie Thompson as the only players to notch back-to-back triple-doubles.
“Bong Quinto is truly our leader. He is setting an example kaya nagiging maganda takbo namin,” said Letran head coach Jeff Napa.
“If Bong plays well, everybody plays well. Ang maganda ay in-accept na niya yung pagiging leader ng team.”
The pair’s performances were so rare that it completely overshadowed a string of other standout players for the week.
Bolick and Quinto edged out the likes of CJ Perez of Lyceum and St. Benilde’s Justing Gutang for the weekly plum.