Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
Fresh from his career third-best 29-point explosion in the GlobalPort’s 97-104 defeat against Ginebra last Sunday, the version Sean Anthony who came to play on Friday had a lot of difficulty putting the ball through the hoop.
But rather than mope over his offensive struggles, Anthony put his focus on the dirty work for the Batang Pier.
The Fil-Am forward collected a unique assists-rebounds double-double in the win, finishing with 13 boards and 12 dimes, a first since Chris Ross did it in 2010.
His role as the stabilizing force allowed GlobalPort to claim the 78-70 breakthrough victory over Rain or Shine in the 2018 PBA Philippine Cup.
“Rebounding is always gonna be there for me. It’s a conscious effort thing,” he said after making up for his paltry 1-of-11 shooting with his unwavering effort all over the court.
“I couldn’t hit my open shots and there were a lot of help defense. There was a lot of height on Rain or Shine so I was just trying to find the open guy and set up my teammates, trying to do the right plays. For me, it’s getting my teammates involved and it was great to see them hit those shots.”
While GlobalPort also clicked on offense, Anthony knew what exactly what GlobalPort did right to finally join the winners circle.
“We hadn’t held a team below a hundred the first two games, and [Against] Rain or Shine, to hold a high-powered offense to just 70 points? That’s the key right there. Defense more than offense. I had a really off night shooting-wise but our defense was there. And that’s all that really matters. We need to keep up our defense and we just got to sustain it every game.”