ANTHONY Semerad, the Fil-Australian shooting forward of TnT Katropa, was the least surprised about the brawl that erupted between Gilas Pilipinas and Australia during the FIBA World Cup qualifiers here three months ago which led to the outright revamp of the national team.
Semerad admitted knowing at least half of the members of the Boomers way back during his high school days and is indeed, very familiar with how they play.
“That’s their style of play, they’ll really get under your skin,” said the 27-year-old Semerad in between breaks as he graced the weekly PBA Homecourt on Thursday that visited Barangays San Miguel and Palatiw on Thursday.
Semerad said he personally knows Chris Goulding, the Aussie player who was fouled hard by Roger Pogoy and sparked one of the worst brawls ever involving a Philippine team in an international tournament.
He disclosed playing together with Goulding in high school and once played against Aussie star Matthew Delavedova, who he describes as a ‘very, very good player.’
Some of the Boomers also texted him during their stay here in the country, according to Semerad, but couldn’t find time to meet with them.
Nonetheless, Semerad said he told Pogoy, his TnT teammate, about what he should expect from the Boomers.
“I talked to Pogoy about it (the day before the game),” said the Fil-Aussie, who just watched the game on television.
Pogoy and Goulding were among the 13 players suspended by FIBA in the ongoing World Cup qualifiers, a huge development which eventually led to the changing of the guard as far as the composition of the national team is concerned, including the coaching staff.
Semerad’s chance to play for the national team was actually affected by the incident as TnT decided not to pursue earlier plans of lending the core of its ballclub to the country’s Asian Games campaign, paving the way for Rain or Shine to take over the task. The former San Beda stalwart was among the eight Katropa initially tapped to reinforce the Philippine squad.
A part-time model, Semerad is currently sidelined in the season-ending Governors Cup as he’s still recuperating from a recent operation to remove bones spurs on his right elbow.
He’s projected to be out for at least six to eight weeks.
Semerad got injured during the finals of last year’s Commissioner’s Cup against San Miguel when he banged the elbow on the Smart Araneta Coliseum floor.
“I was taking pain killer all this time, but lately it’s not working anymore,” he stressed, prompting him to finally go under the knife.
He expects to go back to action come the playoffs.
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