Northport relied on the all-around play of Sean Anthony to score a 95-90 win over the NLEX Road Warriors in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Sunday.
Anthony scored 22 points, hauled down nine rebounds, issued five assists, and had seven of Northport’s 15 steals to lead the Batang Pier to a 2-0 start.
Northport coach Pido Jarencio expressed little surprise at the splendid performance of the 32-year-old Fil-Canadian on his seventh ballclub since being picked sixth overall by the defunct Air21 Express during the 2010 Rookie Draft.
“That is Sean’s natural game. That’s the kind of player you would like to have, a fighter and someone who plays with a lot of heart,” said Jarencio. “He’s been so consistent; he is actually our sixth man but he puts up double-double performances.”
Anthony got ample support from his teammates, particularly rookie Robert Bolick who scored six of his 14 points in the payoff canto, an impressive follow-up to his 26-point output in Northport’s 117-91 win over Blackwater last Wednesday.
“He’s a steady, smart player and most importantly, he listens to me and that’s the type of player that I like. Someone who thinks about the team more than himself,” Jarencio said of Bolick, his neophyte from San Beda.
Northport’s win spoiled the notable numbers put up by NLEX’s new recruit JP Erram who had a team-high 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds coming off the bench.
A big letdown for NLEX was the comebacking Kevin Alas who could only score two points on 1-of-11 shooting in 26 minutes.
Alas, who was sidelined for about 10 months due to an ACL injury, had a decent outing in their team’s season debut, tallying 12 points and four assists during their 96-87 loss to Rain or Shine last Friday at the Cuneta Astrodome.
Meantime, Jarencio is hopeful their start will lead them to a better campaign this tournament and throughout the season.
“I’ve been handling the core of this team for almost a year so now their potentials are slowly manifesting,” added Jarencio. “As long as we remain consistent and injury-free, we’ll be fine.” (Dennis Principe)
