ANTIPOLO CITY – After taking care of business against Alaska despite a short 10-man rotation, Sean Anthony is looking forward to getting a lot more help with the possible return of top gun Stanley Pringle from injury.
The Batang Pier did miss the services of the player Anthony described as the ‘most explosive scorer in the league’ in its PBA Commissioner’s Cup debut on Wednesday as Pringle continues to recuperate from an operation where bone spurs were removed from his foot.
Nonetheless, the team managed to blow past the Aces, 103-81, behind the efforts of Anthony and the trio of Robert Bolick, Mo Tautuaa, and import Prince Ibeh.
Anthony had a game-high 22 points on 3-of-6 shooting from three-point range, Bolick and Ibeh had 19 each, while Taututaa added 12 and nine rebounds for the shorth-handed Batang Pier.
Ibeh also shot 9-of-14 and had 13 rebounds in 40 minutes of play in his PBA debut.
But still, it’s nothing like having Pringle around, according to Anthony.
“Stanley is a huge part of this team. He just makes everything easier and draws the defense. So having that, he opens up everything for everyone,” said Anthony.
Aside from Pringle, NorthPort also played minus guard Garvo Lanete (sprained ankle) and big man Bradwyn Guinto (knee injury).
Good thing, the other Batang Pier stepped up to deal the Aces their first loss in two games.
“We knew our young guards need to step up in the absence of Stanley. Jonathan (Gray) had a great game, Paulo (Taha) had a great game, Ryan (Arana) had a great game. That’s what we needed, so it’s great to see that,” said Anthony.
The do-it-all Fil-Canadian wingman also lauded the Batang Pier’s team effort especially on the defensive side after having held a proud team such as Alaska to just a total of 81 points.
“Tonight we just try to look at open guys, a lot of assists, a lot of ball movements. More than that it’s great defense. Last conference we have one of the worse defenses in the league, but tonight we held a great team in Alaska to (just) that (81 points),” said Anthony.
If NorthPort is already good against Alaska, the team is bound to get even better with the expected return of Pringle, perhaps in its next game against NLEX on Saturday.
And Anthony certainly welcomes it.
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