Chot Reyes. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
National team coach Chot Reyes surprised many on Tuesday when he enlisted Christian Standhardinger as part of Gilas’ lineup for the 2017 Southeast Asian Games.
Though the Fil-German forward has yet to attend any practice sessions, the outspoken mentor said that their past knowledge of him was enough to give him a slot in the Philippine team.
“We’ve seen him. He’s been here for a few times, not with this group, but we know how he plays. We’ve been monitoring him,” he said.
Standhardinger will arrive in the country late Tuesday night and will immediately join the team practice on Wednesday afternoon.
Reyes noted that the inclusion of the 6-foot-7 Standhardinger will be a huge boost to the country’s frontline in the regional tilt, as he is set to team up with undersized big men like Kobe Paras, Troy Rosario, Raymar Jose, and Carl Bryan Cruz.
“I think we have quite a good lineup of big men. That was the biggest deficiency of having an all-cadet team, that we didn’t have enough quality big guys. They are all undersized, but then with the addition of Christian and Kobe, we were able to address that. Hopefully, that would be enough to get the job done in the SEA Games,” he said.
However, Reyes said changes could still be made with the team.
“There’s always a possibility of changes. People get — God forbid — get injured, or they don’t come to practice and stuff, we have time to still make changes. The reserves are the other guys in the pool,” he said.
“But for now, the way were looking at it, that’s the kind of lineup we’re hoping to field in the SEA Games. It’s a combination of cadets and new guys, plus two PBA vets.”