Back against the wall

NorthPort lists Sean doubtful vs SMB

MANILA, Philippines — NorthPort may have to fight for survival in its PBA Philippine Cup best-of-three quarterfinal duel with San Miguel Beer without veteran Sean Anthony.

The Fil-Canadian forward sprained his left ankle halfway through the fourth quarter of Sunday’s series opener and watched in pain as the Batang Pier suffered a stinging 87-88 loss on a winning jumper by Alex Cabagnot.

Anthony, who contributed a team-high 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists before limping out, is doubtful for Game 2.

“Day-to-day ang status ni Sean,” NorthPort coach Pido Jarencio told The STAR yesterday. “Tignan natin kung makakalaro next game.”

The affected ankle is the same one with the bone spurs, which had forced Anthony out of action in the tournament before.

The Batang Pier came tantalizingly close to stealing Game 1. With Anthony scoring nine, Jarencio’s troops wiped out an 11-point deficit and overtook the Beermen, 87-86, on Robert Bolick’s triple from way out with 5.1 seconds left.

However, Cabagnot played spoiler and sent SMB to the threshold of the semifinals. It was a triumphant return for Cabagnot after a month-long hiatus due to knee injury.

One more San Miguel stalwart in sick bay, top gunner Terrence Romeo, is preparing to make his own comeback from Achilles heel issues.

“Terrence will be assessed by our PTs tomorrow but the last report I had was that the pain and swelling on his foot has considerably become a bit tolerable,” said team manager Gee Abanilla.

“He has not tried jogging on it yet but he has been in Quest Hotel (with the team) since Saturday. We don’t want to force him so it’s only Terrence who could decide if he is good to go,” he added.