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So you think the Flyers and Sixers are going through rough times?
Maybe a talk with Robert Antrom will help curb those frustrations. In his first three seasons with the Furness basketball team, his squad recorded a total of four victories.
Suddenly, the Philadelphia pro-sports situation doesn’t seem so bad.
Eventually things do get better, and for Antrom, it has come at the perfect time — senior year. His team entered the week with four Public League wins, matching its total over the past three years. Furness closed out January with three straight victories over Franklin Towne Charter, West Philadelphia and Germantown.
"I feel elated," Antrom said. "We’ve been struggling for a while."
But the 17-year-old from West Philly isn’t getting a big head. Yes, the mood following the Jan. 25, 83-69 win over West Philadelphia was ecstatic, as it marked a second-straight victory, but the players didn’t go dancing down Second Street like the Mummers.
"We were quite happy [about the win], but we had to stay humble," Antrom said. "Hopefully, it can carry us through the season and gets us more wins."
Sure enough, Furness extended the run to Jan. 30 by defeating Germantown, 65-60. The other highlight came in the Jan. 9, 61-57 defeat of Roxborough, ending the six-game losing streak that kicked off the 2006-07 season.
Antrom has played a big role in the turnaround, averaging 18 points a game during the recent victories.
"With my experience on varsity and me being a senior, I feel as though it’s my duty," he said of leading the team.
Call it a work in progress, as Furness also has experienced its share of difficult times against the Division’s tougher teams, like the Feb. 1, 66-44 loss to Central. The Falcons actually hung in at first, trailing by one point at the half. In the last two quarters, the South Philly squad scored 16 points.
First-year coach Brian Blasy is simply looking for his team to make steady strides.
"My main goal as coach is to keep them on task to improve and keep them hungry to improve," he said.
Things have been ugly at times this season, especially in mid-December when the squad lost by 25 to Bartram and 51 to defending league champ Simon Gratz. Those blowouts would be enough for some teams to throw in the towel, but after the slow start, Antrom thinks his Falcons are responding well.
"Everybody on the team is positive and puts forth a 100 percent team effort," he said.
Having strong chemistry also helps. "If it wasn’t for the team effort, we wouldn’t be winning right now," the athlete said.
This season could be the senior’s last in competitive ball, although he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of playing in college. So far, the student-athlete, who is a member of the school’s mentally gifted program, has been accepted to Bloomsburg University and Indiana University of Pennsylvania. At Furness, he is in the Information Technology Academy.
One could call Antrom the complete package.
"He is an all-star all around," Blasy said. "All his teachers say good things about him. He is a smart player on the court also."
Before leaving, his Falcons could be heading somewhere the Sixers likely won’t — the playoffs. The squad is one of five AAA schools in Division A, which means it needs to finish in the top three of its group. Franklin Learning Center is first at 11-1, while Bok and Furness are tied with identical 4-8 marks. Bok defeated Furness, 65-64, in a Jan. 11 regular-season meeting.
The two remaining games on the Falcons’ schedule are both against AAAA schools — Overbrook (Feb. 8) and Southern (Feb. 13).
"That’s one thing that is keeping us up, plus we have a lot of seniors on the team, and know it’s our last year to do something," Antrom said of the playoff scenario. "It’s a big motivator to win."
