MANILA – Christian Standhardinger was set to make his debut for San Miguel Beermen in the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
The top overall pick in last year’s Rookie Draft was seen to make the already strong Beermen – which recently bagged its fourth consecutive Philippine Cup title – stronger.
Beermen head coach Leo Austria said the 6-foot-9 Filipino-German center will join the team after his stint with Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions in the ASEAN Basketball League later this month.
“I think that team is really excited sa pagdating ni Standhardinger,” Austria said. “I think iwe-welcome nila ng buong-buo siya dahil alam nila malaki ang matutulong niya. Si Christian lagi nagko-communicate with our players and management.”
“Sabi nila (Standhardinger’s arrival) will be a problem but sabi ko it will be a good problem,” added the coach. “May criticism kasi na I only use seven or eight players but hahaba iyong rotation ko this time.”
Standhardinger, who previously played as naturalized center for Gilas Pilipinas, was producing decent numbers for Long Lions – 23.05 points and 11.7 rebounds on average per outing.
He was set to play with fellow big man June Mar Fajardo (6-foot-9), giving other team two big men in Beermen to contend with.
But Austria believes the entry of Standhardinger alone cannot guarantee a successful defense of their Commissioner’s Cup title if other teams were improving as well.
“The possibility of losing is still there, every game, every conference,” Austria said. “If they will work hard and have a good camaraderie and good preparation, there’s a great possibility that we can win another championship.”
“But this is still a long shot because every team in the PBA right now is trying to build up their team. Magagaling ang mga imports this coming conference,” he added. “Again, talent is not enough.”/PN
