TWO veteran players who made defense as their specialty in the PBA finally decided to hang up their sneakers.
Guard Ryan Reyes and forward Sean Anthony both called it a career by the end of the league’s Season 49 for TNT and NLEX, respectively.
Tropang 5G team manager Jojo Lastimosa confirmed the retirement of the 42-year-old Reyes, who was plagued by injuries during his final season with the telecommunication franchise.
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Anthony, 39, meanwhile officially announced his decision to step away from the game through the social media platform LinkedIn.
“Saying goodbye to something you love is one of the hardest things to do, which is probably why it has taken me so long to share this. But here it goes: I am officially retiring from basketball,” Anthony wrote.
In their more than a decade of stay in Asia’s first ever play-for-pay league, both Reyes and Anthony stood out for their defensive prowess.
The No.3 overall pick in the 2007 draft by Sta. Lucia, Reyes was a four-time member of the All-Defensive team and adjudged Rookie of the Year in 2008.
The Fil-Am guard from Los Angeles won a total of eight championships – one with the Realtors and the rest with TNT, where he spent 15 of his 17 seasons in the league.
Reyes was also the recipient of the Samboy Lim Sportsmanship Award and a three-time All-Star.
He has career averages of 6.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.2 steals in 611 games played.
Anthony on the other hand, was the 2019 Defensive Player of the Year and member of the All-Defensive Team that same season.
The Fil-Canadian was the No. 6 overall pick in 2010 by Air21, who later became a Mythical Second Team member (2016) and Mythical First Team selection (2019).
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The do-it-all forward had an extensive career playing for teams such as Powerade, Barako Bull, TNT, Air 21, Meralco, Northport, Phoenix, and NLEX, where he spent the final two seasons of his career.
Anthony though, never got the chance to win a championship.
He revealed in his retirement announcement his decision not to sign the contract extension offered by NLEX after finding out his son had cancer.
After undergoing treatment in Singapore, the Anthony family has since relocated to Vancouver, Canada, where his son continues his post-treatment monitoring and care after his son was declared cancer-free.
Anthony has a master’s degree in business administration and NLEX team governor Ronald Dulatre said the 6-foot-4 forward was looking forward to having a corporate job and career with the Road Warriors upon retirement.
“Nag-apply na siya for a corporate job sa amin (NLEX), kaso naging busy nga siya sa anak niya, kaya hindi na rin niya natuloy yung balak niya,” said Dulatre.
Anthony now works as senior consultant for an advisory services company in Canada, with Dulatre serving as one of his references when he applied for the job.
In his 14 PBA seasons, he averaged 10.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.2 steals in 363 games.
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