The Semerad twins made an offer to the San Beda College two years ago: Take them both and the team would get not just one but two hardworking players.
It turned out to be a very good investment for the Red Lions.
“We’ve always played for the same colors. We’ve always been on the same team,” says small forward Anthony Semerad.
He and his brother, power forward David, started playing basketball when they were eight years old. David says they saw a pamphlet for a camp and badgered their father to let them join. Their dad said they could, if they could convince their older sister to join them. Luckily, she did.
It is the love of the game that took these Fil-Aussies back to their mother’s country. David says they wanted to get into San Beda because of its credentials and its reputation for being the No. 1 team in the NCAA.
The duo, with their curly brown hair and hot bods, became instant favorites among the fans. They’re easy on the eyes, all right. But they have real talent, too.
Anthony is a dependable shooter, while David is a real pain in defense. Sibling rivalry has never been an issue because the brothers say they just want to be where the other is. They love the fact that there are two of them.
They both stand at 6’5” and they both have the same shoe size, 15. They shop for the same clothes, except they each choose a different color. It makes sharing easier.
Connection
A few minutes with them and you’d feel the connection between the two. They’d talk with their eyes and laugh at the same time. They rib each other endlessly. They still like to play switcheroo to confuse their friends—and girlfriends!—even now that they’re 20 years old.
There was even a glint of naughtiness in their eyes when I asked what their usual pranks are. “It’s a secret!” says David, with Anthony laughing.
They even like the same things. They are both R ‘n’ B, Bruno Mars and pasta fans. They both have the same Aussie accent. They both use Filipino terms like “din” and “di ba?”
Jerseys help distinguish the two. Anthony is 6 while David is 14. They both have a tattoo of a lion on their left arms. They had it tattooed while they were traveling in Europe two years ago.
David has something extra, though. Below the lion is the word “Faith” spelled out. Unfortunately, Anthony will get the same tattoo soon, so goodbye to another distinguishing mark.
“You could tell us apart if you really got to know us. I’m usually the quiet one while David is more outgoing,” says Anthony. David pipes in that Anthony has a mole on his face.
They have what it takes to become NCAA’s bad boys. They have three more years to do that. But right now, all they want to do is win the back-to-back championship for the Red Lions.