Semerads’ mom couldn’t be happier

While in Brisbane to cover the recent Manny Pacquiao-Jeff Horn fight, I was introduced to the Semerad twins’ mother Evelyn who is from Minalin, Pampanga, and lives in the Australian city. ALV Events International CEO Arnold Vegafria, who manages the Semerad brothers Anthony and David, got us together.

Unfortunately, Evelyn wasn’t able to fly over to Manila to watch the recent PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals where her two sons played on opposing teams. David suited up for San Miguel Beer which won the title, 4-2, over TNT KaTropa. Anthony started in three of the six games in the Finals, averaging 7.2 points and taking on the role of San Miguel import Charles Rhodes’ primary defender. 

“I’m really happy for both of them,” said Evelyn, 49. “David played on five PBA championship teams but for Anthony, this was his first Finals. It was such a break for Anthony because he was given a lot of playing time and did well. Somehow, his performance led to David getting some playing time, too. So in the end, it worked out well for both. I’ve just started a new job with Queensland Transport so I couldn’t get off work to watch the Finals.”

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Evelyn has been married to Roman Semerad, a Czech native, for 30 years. They met in Melbourne when she went on a holiday with her grandparents. “A family friend introduced us and Roman later went to the Philippines where we got married,” she recalled. “Then, we settled in Melbourne but after about two years, we went to Prague where we lived for four years. Eventually, we went back to Australia where Roman now works as a painting contractor.”

The Semerads have three children. The oldest Tanya, 29, is a lawyer and a high-performance success coach. Anthony and David, 26, attended high school at John Paul College in Brisbane then took off for Prague where they explored the possibility of playing basketball in the European leagues. The 6-4 Semerads made it as reserves on the Czech U16 national team and were advised to turn pro. “They spent two years in Prague but we decided that education is a priority and if they joined the European pro leagues, it would be a full-time job,” said Evelyn. “So the boys went to Manila where I thought they could get a good education and pursue their basketball career at the same time.”

The Semerads had tryouts with coach Louie Alas at Letran and coach Norman Black at Ateneo but chose to set their roots with coach Frankie Lim at San Beda. They were on two back-to-back NCAA champion teams with the Red Lions then moved to Ateneo. But after a year, the Semerads returned to Mendiola where they again saw action on back-to-back NCAA champion squads.

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Evelyn said basketball wasn’t the twins’ first sport. “They played soccer as kids,” she said. “They were also into track. Anthony was a champion long-distance runner while David was a sprinter. For a while, David thought of taking up golf. But it was basketball that they fell in love with.”

Both brothers were picked on the first round of the 2014 PBA draft. Anthony went ahead, chosen by GlobalPort seventh overall while David was selected by Barako Bull 10th overall. David was later released by Barako and picked up by San Miguel. That year, Stanley Pringle was the PBA’s first overall choice. Anthony played for GlobalPort until his trade to TNT late in the eliminations of the recent Commissioner’s Cup. Anthony never went scoreless in 15 games with seven starts for TNT, hitting in double figures in five outings. He finished the conference averaging 6.3 points with a single-game high of 14 and connecting 40.7 percent from beyond the arc.

David, who has been a lucky charm for San Miguel coach Leo Austria, played in only 10 games in the Commissioner’s Cup but five came during the Finals. He scored eight points during the title series, somehow fitting in with a loaded lineup at the three and four spots.