Sean Anthony had plenty of chances to win a PBA title in more than a decade of playing in the big league.
He was a key member of the Powerade Tigers team that made a Cinderella run in the 2012 Philippine Cup. Then an eighth seeded squad, the Tigers defeated the top seed B-Meg Llamados twice in a row in the quarterfinals, then put away another favored squad, Rain or Shine, in a grueling seven-game series in the semifinal round.
But in the championship round, the Tigers were outplayed by the more seasoned TNT Tropang Texters in five games.
“With Powerade, we got too excited once we got to the finals,” Anthony said. “We had a chance, but when Game 1 slipped out and then we lost in overtime in Game 2, TNT was ready to go.”
Two years later, Anthony, now playing for the Air21 Express, had a chance to lead his squad to making the championship round, but an unfortunate incident happened in Game 4 of their best-of-five semifinals series against the grand slam-seeking San Mig Coffee Mixers.
“Another one that was hard for me was Air21,” added Anthony. “We just beat San Miguel, which had a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals and then we went up 2-1 against San Mig Coffee, which was going for a Grand Slam. But that was when I injured my Achilles. I sat out the next two games and we ended up losing to them.”
Now on his 12th season in the PBA, Anthony doesn’t have many more chances left, but he feels he still has some good years left in him and there’s no better way to cap his career than winning a championship.
After a frustrating campaign at the Bubble where they ended up with the second worst record in the tournament, the NorthPort Batang Pier are looking to rebound this season.
The Batang Pier own the second overall pick in the first round and have an extra pick at No. 11, and those assets could turn out to be good investments as they move along.
“I was playing alright in the Bubble, averaging almost triple-double. It’s just unfortunate we couldn’t close out, then I got injured. I was out for two weeks and in a normal season, that’s just two or three games, but because of the super compressed schedule, I missed out most of the games in the elimination,” added Anthony, who averaged 14.50 points, 9.75 rebounds, and 5.75 assists per game.
“Winning a championship is the best way to cap my stellar career. I think I have a few good years with me, that’s for sure. But I don’t think I’ll pull a Tom Brady, who played until 43.”
Still, Anthony believes that with a team built around him, center Christian Standhardinger, Garvo Lanete, Kevin Ferrer and the two first round picks this year, the future looks bright for the Batang Pier.