Christian Standhardinger. Photo from Fiba.com
NLEX will most likely pick second overall in the 2017 PBA Draft that has head coach Yeng Guiao licking his chops given the potential of talents that would be available.
So far, only Christian Standhardinger has officially applied for the draft among the highly-touted prospects eyeing to make the jump to the pros this year.
But the likes of Kiefer Ravena, Jeron Teng and other big names could also follow suit.
Most coaches keep their cards close to their chest but Guiao didn’t beat around the bush when asked who intends to select.
“Nothing but the obvious so if Standhardinger is No. 1, maybe we’ll go with Kiefer. If it’s Kiefer’s No. 1 then we’ll go with Standhardinger because most likely we’ll be No. 2, so it’s really that obvious, I guess,” said Guiao.
“We have another draft very early in the second round so we’ll see who are the best available talent in the second round.”
Guiao both described Standhardinger and Ravena as “immediate impact players.”
He likes the fact that Standhardinger is a seasoned player having played in Basketball Bundesliga, a top tier professional club league in Germany.
“Standhardinger is coming into the draft at 28 years old, he’s mature. He’s got experience, so you don’t need to put him through a learning process,” said Guiao.
“He understands the game from what we’ve seen. He’s a hard worker, he can fit right into any team’s system.”
The 6-foot-7 Fil-German introduced himself to Philippine basketball when he was tapped to play for the national team in the Jones Cup before suiting up as Gilas Pilipinas’ naturalized player in the 2017 Fiba Asia Cup as a replacement for Andray Blatche.
Guiao also had nothing but praise for the 23-year-old Ravena, who won two UAAP titles and a couple of UAAP MVPs with Ateneo
“Kiefer, on the other hand, we all know that he can be a go-to guy, he can also create for his teammates, he has leadership. He’s not afraid to take over a game. He’s a very intelligent, high-IQ player, so those are the things that a team like ours could really need.”