ANTIPOLO — It took longer than expected, but Sean Anthony felt thankful to finally make his debut with Phoenix Super LPG, Friday.
The veteran forward has been away from the hardwood since the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals last September 26. At the time, he was still with NorthPort before a trade to the Fuel Masters two months later.
He, however, didn’t make his first on-court appearance for his new team until Friday as he underwent surgeries and rehabilitation.
“It’s been almost a year,” he said. “It’s been about 10 months, two surgeries, lots of rehab. Feels great to be back on the court.
“Grateful to be back.”
The 36-year-old actually should have played earlier in the new season. But he faced a bit of a setback, causing him to miss their first two games.
“It was unfortunate, the surgery I had where they re-attached my groin and re-attached my abs back onto the bone, part of it is… At some point, the scar tissue would break up,” Anthony recalled.
“Unfortunately, it was the month like I’ve been practicing with them for a bit and unfortunately, the scar tissue popped on Monday. It takes about a week or a week and a half so I had to sit out those first two games.”
But it’s better late than never, as the adage goes. And Anthony immediately brought impact for Phoenix against Terrafirma.
The 12-year veteran finished with nine points, 12 rebounds, two steals, and an assist in 23 minutes off the bench. He helped his side hand the Dyip a 97-74 beating to collect their first win in the 2022 Philippine Cup.
Anthony said that he still has lots of work to do in terms of conditioning but is nonetheless elated to be playing once more.
“I just came in, played, did what I could. I knew my conditioning wasn’t going to be where it needs to be just because I’ve just been rehabbing. And I haven’t been able to play full 5-on-5 so I’m going to work my way into shape,” said the one-time Mythical First Team member.
“I just wanted to impact the game in some way, setting guys up, rebounds, or whatnot.”
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