MANILA – Christian Standhardinger is not heading anywhere despite his name was placed in the trade radar since the offseason, according to NorthPort Batang Pier team owner Mikee Romero in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
Romero said that he has no plans of letting go the Filipino-German tank as he is the face of the Batang Pier franchise. Standhardinger’s presence, he added, makes the team a serious contender in the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup.
“Bakit mo naman ite-trade? Hindi totoo ‘yun,” Romero said in an interview during the Philippine Sportswriters Association Awards Night. “Siya ang face ng team, si Christian. He will remain as the face of NorthPort Batang Pier.”
He added: “Mukhang maganda ‘yung chance namin. Any team, lalo na pag all-Filipino na may big man, malaking bagay. Problema lang namin maraming na-injure, but the team is trying its best to compete.”
Standhardinger, the 2017 PBA Draft No. 1 overall pick by the San Miguel Beermen, was acquired by the Batang Pier late last year in exchange for Moala Tautuaa.
Despite his strong showing that led Batang Pier to the semifinals of the latest edition of the PBA Governors’ Cup, Standhardinger’s name was still linked to trade rumors, which includes going to the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings.
Romero, however, said that he envisions good things to come for the Batang Pier this season by having Standhardinger around, along with the impending return of Robert Bolick from an injury and the entry of rookie standouts.
Romero said: “Si Robert (Bolick) was not with us when we reached the semis last time, so, hopefully we can replicate. Two times pa lang kami nakakapag-semfinals dito sa PBA. Napakahirap talaga.”
“We’ll take it one step at a time. Sana maulit namin ‘yung nagawa sa semifinals. After that, anybody’s ballgame na. We’re learning. It’s a learning process for us. Natuto na kami last year. We learned from those mistakes,” he added./PN
