SEAN Anthony admitted he is still recovering from a knee injury that is keeping him from being at his best for NLEX early in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
The Road Warriors star forward was the team’s most consistent player in the Philippine Cup where he averaged 14.3 points, 10.7 boards, 2.6 assists, and 1.3 steals in 26.2 minutes in nine games before a sprained MCL (medial collateral ligament) and LCL (lateral) shut him down in the last two games.
Now, the Filipino-Canadian forward has been the missing link early in the midseason tournament for a Road Warriors side that has gone winless in its first two games.
“I’m still coming back (from my injury),” Anthony said after their 91-84 loss to Meralco on Sunday night, limping as he appeared to suffer a new injury. “I don’t think I hurt it bad (this time), but at that last play, something weird happened. I’m walking on it right now. I think I’m okay. It’s just a little tweak.”
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After scoring just two points – all from foul line, along with five boards, three assists, and one steal in 24 minutes as starter in their opening-day loss to Rain or Shine, Anthony was again held to two points on 1-of-5 shooting, although he added 10 boards, four assists, two steals, against two turnovers in 19 minutes off the bench versus the Bolts.
Despite his limited presence, the Road Warriors managed to keep in step with the Bolts before folding in the payoff period.
“We were in it, except for one stretch when Meralco took a big lead,” Anthony, who has been practicing for less than two weeks, said. “But we played three quarters of good basketball.
“(We lack) experience, I guess,” he added. “I got to watch the tape and see what happened.”
Asked what needs to be done to put an end to their early losing streak, Anthony kept his mouth shut.
“I don’t know. I’d rather not say,” Anthony said as he shifted his focus to their game against Mahindra next week. “We need to get that win.”