For flag and countrymen

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Christian Standhardinger played 61 minutes in a triple-overtime victory that finished past 10 p.m. on Wednesday night. He was running drills at 10 a.m. Thursday, one of the early birds to show up for Gilas Pilipinas practice at Upper Deck gym.

With little time to prepare for the 30th Southeast Asian Games, Standhardinger feels obliged to make sure he and his teammates will leave nothing to chance when they gun for the gold medal that matters the most to Filipino hearts.

“Of course I’m tired. Coach mentioned that we only have a little amount of time to really prepare for the SEA Games,” said Standhardinger, who propped NorthPort’s scintillating 126-123 victory over top seed NLEX in the PBA Governors’ Cup at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

The Batang Pier thus made the semifinals as the No. 8 seed and will battle Barangay Ginebra for a championship berth.

“We have six or seven practices left, so I’m just trying to take advantage of that,” Standhardinger said.

The Filipino-German big man had 33 points, 23 rebounds and seven assists as he kept alive something his former team, San Miguel Beer, has already lost: a chance to win three titles this season.

Standhardinger was traded to NorthPort for Mo Tautuaa, but the Beermen’s Grand Slam hopes fizzled out after getting eliminated by Ginebra in the quarterfinals.

But Standhardinger’s focus right now is the SEA Games, and his eagerness to prove his worth made him troop to the gym earlier than a lot of other team members, including coach Tim Cone.

Standhardinger said being tired is not an excuse for him to slack off on his national team duties, especially for a squad heavily favored to win the gold.

“We only have one shot. Of course I’m tired, but there needs to be sacrifice and I’m willing to take it,” he said.

Standhardinger said he arrived with forward Japeth Aguilar and that June Mar Fajardo and Troy Rosario were already at the practice facility when they got there.

Cone said that when he arrived, Standhardinger was already working out with assistant coach Kirk Collier, surprising the coaching legend since the big man was still playing competitive playoff basketball well into the late hours the night before.

“When I got here, he (Standhardinger) already had the band around him and he was doing work, and I was like ‘Are you kidding me?’ said Cone.

“I told the team that Christian can be a role model for all of us in terms of work ethic … He’s an amazing person at this point. His work ethic is so good he embarrasses me,” Cone said with a chuckle.

Standhardinger said he is motivated to give the Filipino masses a brief and entertaining respite from the rigors of daily living. He added his countrymen already face difficulties in their everyday lives and for him to represent them in an international stage and play well is his way of easing their burdens.

“Since I enjoy pushing myself and embracing that role, I will do it, and obviously, sacrificing for the country makes everything a lot easier,” Standhardinger said. “There are a lot of hardworking Filipinos out there and if we can play hard and win, then it would bring a little bit of joy and entertainment to their lives.”

“We can affect so many lives just by playing hard.”