SEAN Anthony failed to replicate his rare offensive outburst from the previous game but his unusual double-double performance proved to be one of the keys in GlobalPort's 78-70 victory over Rain or Shine Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Anthony went just 1-of-11 from the field for three points but kept doing his usual dirty work to register 13 rebounds and 12 assists while adding four steals in 37 minutes that allowed the Batang Pier to register their first win in the PBA Philippine Cup after two straight defeats.
He became the first player to register a rebound-assist double-double since Nov. 24, 2010 when current San Miguel guard Chris Ross had 12 rebounds and 10 assists while helping Meralco beat Powerade, 88-85.
Incidentally, Anthony was part of that game as a Powerade rookie.
"I couldn't hit a shot, but it's okay," said Anthony, who fired 29 points but failed to help GlobalPort sustain a third quarter lead in Sunday's 104-97 loss to Barangay Ginebra San Miguel at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
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"Rebounding is always gonna be there for me. It's a conscious effort thing,"
Anthony added: "The scoring, I just take what the defense gave me. I'm just trying to set up my teammates. I'm just trying to do the right plays. For me, it's getting my teammates involved and it was great to see them hit those shots. Great win today."
Stanley Pringle, carrying most of the scoring load in the absence of injured star Terrence Romeo, had 29 points, including nine in the final quarter as GlobalPort forced Rain or Shine to produce the lowest points made in a game this conference.
The Batang Pier's effort came after giving up an average of 109 points in the first two games. They opened the conference with a 115-104 loss to the NLEX Road Warriors on Christmas Day.
"Credit to our team for playing our best defense so far. The most important thing was our team defense," Anthony said. "We need to keep up our defense. We had a few lapses in the end but we were able to recover. We just got to sustain it every game." (JT)
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