MANILA – In a trade among former top overall picks, Moala Tautuaa is set to suit up for the San Miguel Beermen while Christian Standhardinger will now don the jersey of the NorthPort Batang Pier.
In the shock trade deal that was agreed by the PBA Commissioner’s Office on Monday night, the Beermen parted ways with Standhardinger while acquiring stretch five Tautuaa from the Batang Pier’s camp.
Tautuaa is surely a welcome addition for the grand slam-seeking Beermen with his vastly-improved game since being transferred to the Batang Pier from his original squad TNT KaTropa.
The 30-year old Fil-Tongan, the top overall pick by the KaTropa in the 2015 PBA Rookie Draft, normed 11.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.3 assist per game in the ongoing Governors’ Cup.
Standhardinger, the No. 1 pick by the Beermen in the 2017 PBA Rookie Draft, could also made an impact for Batang Pier after playing backup to June Mar Fajardo at the SMB.
TNT and SMB were able to acquire Tautuaa and Standhardinger as top selections, respectively, after taking the No. 1 overall pick rights from Blackwater Elite and Columbian Dyip via controversial trades.
The KaTropa got the rights to select Tautuaa in a trade with Elite in 2014 for reserve center Larry Rodriguez, while Beermen got Dyip’s No. 1 pick in 2017 by sending over a plateau of reserve players, including Ilonggo Ronald Tubid, who returned to the SMB.
Tautuaa will have his Beermen debut when the team takes on the Dyip on Sunday evening, while Standhardinger will play for the Batang Pier for the first time when it battles SMB on Oct. 23./PN
