Photo by Randolph B. Leongson/ INQUIRER.net
Don’t call Christian Standhardinger a rookie.
The top pick of the 2017 PBA Draft argued that the rookie label doesn’t fit him given his experience of playing professionally overseas.
“I’m not a rookie,” Standhardinger said. “I’m talking facts here. You can’t call a 28-year-old who’s played five-year professional basketball in Europe and in Hong Kong as a rookie. That doesn’t make sense. I know that I’m not a rookie and I know my teammates know that, too.”
Aside from being branded as a freshman, the Fil-German big man really have no complaints as he finally makes his much-awaited PBA debut with San Miguel in the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
“I’m very surprised and happy with how the San Miguel group welcomed me here. It was very professional, very caring, very family-like, and I really appreciate that. I’m excited to play for this company hopefully for the long time, and it couldn’t get it any better in my head,” he said.
Coming off a solid stint in the ASEAN Basketball League with Hong Kong Eastern, Standhardinger relishes the situation he is in now, saying that for the first time in his professional career, he’s focus on nothing else but winning.
“I’m in a very nice position that for the first time in my career, I can really just focus on winning. I don’t have to focus on anything else,” he said as he looked back at the cut-throat nature of professional basketball in Europe.
“Sometimes, when you have a one-year contract with a team, you have to focus on your stats because that’s how you’ll get another job. So you have to focus on winning and your stats,” he said.
“Here, I can really just put my focus on winning. I can look at how I can make this team better. Here, all that matters is winning.”
That only makes Standhardinger all the more excited to blend in with his new teammates, especially with the likes of former MVPs June Mar Fajardo and Arwind Santos.
“They have a great team already with great players, so what I’m doing is I look at where I can help a little bit,” he said. “There’s no pressure for me to do a big impact, but rather, just help in any way I can and hope that we win a lot of championships.”