Photo from Fiba.com
Despite the uncertainty surrounding his status, Christian Standhardinger remains a solid prospect for the top teams drafting in the 2017 PBA Rookie Draft.
Three of the four teams picking in the upper thirds of the annual rookie selection expressed their desire to sign up the 28-year-old big man even if he had already signed a contract with Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions in the ASEAN Basketball League.
“If we can get a guy like Standhardinger, with his experience and demeanor on the court and his skillset, he can easily turn this franchise around,” said Kia coach Chris Gavina, whose team owns the number one pick in this year’s draft.
The same goes with NLEX coach Yeng Guiao, though he’s aware of the Road Warriors’ position at number two.
“We don’t have any plans yet, but the obvious route for us is if Standhardinger goes number one, maybe we’ll go with Kiefer Ravena,” the fiery mentor said, touching on the possibility of the 23-year-old playmaker declaring for the draft. “If Kiefer is number one, then we’ll go with Standhardinger. That’s really the obvious thing we could come up to right now.”
Picking third, Blackwater still hasn’t come up with its wishlist. “We still need to know more about whose in the draft,” said team manager Johnson Martines.
But Phoenix coach Ariel Vanguardia, meanwhile, is hoping against the odds that somehow, the Fil-German forward would fall through the cracks and drop to four.
“I’m hopeful that Standhardinger will be available when our time comes,” said Vanguardia with the Fuel Masters owning two first round selections.
Though Standhardinger is locked in a live contract with Hong Kong, his PBA draft application opens the chance for teams to claim his rights even when he’s out of the country until the end of the upcoming 2017-2018 ABL season. He could suit up in the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the earliest.
The team that does draft Standhardinger can work a buyout deal with the Long Lions, still granting if he could secure a release from his ABL team.
Fanfare surrounding the hardworking bruiser shouldn’t come as a surprise, especially after his stellar play for Gilas Pilipinas in the Jones Cup, the 2017 Fiba Asia Cup, and the 2017 SEA Games.
But squads which miss out on taking Standhardinger could still get their man as the deadline for local-born aspirants is on October 12.
The 2017 PBA Rookie Draft is on October 29 at Robinson’s Place Manila.