Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
Four-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo isn’t worried over Christian Standhardinger’s underwhelming debut in San Miguel’s 93-85 conference-opener loss to Meralco Wednesday night.
“Christian has been playing for a long time, so I feel that he can eventually adapt to coach’s system. This is just his first game and he’s adjusting to the officiating, but that’s not a big deal,” said Fajardo in Filipino.
In what could be one of the most anticipated PBA debuts recently, Standhardinger finished with just four points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 20 minutes of play.
It may not have been an eye-popping stat line for Standhardinger, but Fajardo believes it’s only a matter of time before Fil-German big man fully integrates with the Beermen and wreaks havoc in the league.
“It’s the chemistry. We need that so that we can execute our plays. We were able to do that earlier, but our shots just didn’t fall in the last two minutes,” he said.
With an addition like Standhardinger along with the presence of import Troy Gillenwater, Fajardo thinks developing chemistry, something which has made the difference for San Miguel in the past years, should be a priority.
The Beermen may have struggled with their rotation in their returnFa since winning the title, but there’s no panicking just yet for the All-Filipino champions.
“We’re OK. Of course, it’s disappointing to lose, but this is just our first game. We have lots of game left and we just need to adjust,” Fajardo said.
San Miguel hopes to bounce back on Sunday when it takes on Rain or Shine.