Standhardinger honored to win Best Player but would gladly trade it for title

NorthPort big man Christian Standhardinger wins Best Player of the Conference award. INQUIRER PHOTO/TRISTAN TAMAYO

MANILA, Philippines — Christian Standhardinger never expected to win Best Player of the Conference.

There was, however, zero doubt why he brought home the plum.

Traded by San Miguel Beer to NorthPort in the middle of the Governors’ Cup, Standhardinger quickly transformed the Batang Pier into a contender.

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The Fil-German forward led an injury-plagued NorthPort side to the playoffs as the eighth seed and spearheaded a mighty upset of top-seed NLEX in the quarterfinals.

“This is completely unexpected. I was surprised that I was even nominated, to be honest with you,” Standhardinger told reporters Wednesday night shortly after the awarding ceremony held before Game 4 of the finals between Barangay Ginebra and Meralco.

“But I’m honored and appreciate it, but I don’t forget or we can’t forget that this is a team effort and not only of the NorthPort team, but also of the people that I surround myself in day-to-day life,” added Standhardinger, who beat former teammate June Mar Fajardo, Jayson Castro, CJ Perez and Kiefer Ravena for the award.

The 30-year-old Standhardinger played just 13 minutes per game for the Beermen in the Governors’ Cup before he was shipped to the Batang Pier for Mo Tautuaa.

At NorthPort, Standhardinger gave San Miguel something to regret as he pushed his conference averages significantly to 23 points and 12 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game in over 44 minutes per game.

Standhardinger, who normed just 3.5 points and 4 rebounds through four games for the Beermen before the trade, took home his first BPC award.

He would rather win another title instead.

“A championship is so much more than a personal award. But yeah. Ten out of 10 times, I’d exchange it for one championship,” he said.

“But that doesn’t take away from the fact that I am really honored to get this award and to everybody involved, starting from the coaches, my family, from the people that I surrounded myself and that I love.”