Top PBA draft prospect Robert Bolick doesn't mind he has as much believers as haters.
He said having detractors has always motivated him to become a better player.
"When I read articles me and see hate comments about me, I feel actually fired up. That means there's a lot of work to do," he said in Filipino during the Draft Combine at the Gatorade Hoops Center.
"During workouts, I look at screenshots of the hate comments and it fires me up. I need to work harder because a lot of people are not yet sold with my game. They are really helping me a lot."
Bolick has always thrived in adversity. The crafty cager was in a similar situation a few years ago when he transferred to San Beda from La Salle. Sparingly used with the Green Archers, he blossomed into one of collegiate basketball's best two-way guards with two NCAA titles and a PBA D-League MVP under his belt.
The 6-foot guard has proven time and again that he is one of the elite players in the country, and now that he is making the jump to the pros, he is confronted with the same challenge.
Although he is projected to be a top three pick in the 2018 PBA Draft on Sunday along with CJ Perez and Bobby Ray Parks, Bolick believes he needs to prove himself anew to basketball fans - a challenge he is embracing.
"I don't care which team will pick me. For me, if a team selects me, it means they see something in me. And I need to repay that by giving it all I've got every game," he said. "This is my dream. I'll just work hard. I will face the best players in the country here. This is the challenge I've waited all my life. It feels great."