Terrafirma Dyip’s Christian Standhardinger during the PBA media day. –PBA IMAGES
Playing for a traditional powerhouse in the PBA comes with a certain kind of expectation.
And whether that diminishes whenever a player moves on to play for a league doormat is something that hardly matters for new Terrafirma standouts Stanley Pringle and Christian Standhardinger.
Winning, after all, is the only thing that should matter.
“Maybe you have a way to find those expectations, but I play the same way on whatever I play for. I play hard, I try to be a team player. And our goal is to win for the team,” said Pringle during the PBA’s Media Day at Le Parc in Pasay City.
“I don’t know whose expectations you’re talking about, but I’m supposed to lead every team in some way and help that team win,” he added.
Standhardinger was much more complex with his take, framing his answer with his experience at NorthPort, which he helped to the franchise’s second semifinal appearance during the 2019 Governors’ Cup.
“I have learned that [things] should not be result-oriented,” the tireless forward said. “It should just be ‘What do I have to do to help this team?’ Then you do it and play the odds, and hopefully, it works out.
“If you do play the odds and it doesn’t work out, you still know that you did everything,” he went on. “If you know you have power and it still didn’t work out, you can deal with the defeat and the losing a bit easier.”
READ: PBA: Ginebra trades rookie draft picks to Terrafirma
Pringle and Standhardinger were two first overall picks Ginebra traded for and then sent away to the Dyip for fresh talent ahead of the PBA’s new season. Both have helped the Gin Kings capture titles during their stay with the crowd darlings, and both are still as hungry to pursue one for the perennial whipping boys.
The pair is set to reinforce Terrafirma cornerstone Juami Tiongson, who has become even more eager to continue his pursuit of a deep run. Heck, even set sights on a title.
“Sure, people don’t expect us to win. Even make the playoffs,” the crafty guard, who has been part of many of Terrafirma’s heartbreaking seasons, told the Inquirer. “But right now, for me, I want to put pressure upon myself.
“To have a guy like C-Stan and Stanley? I mean, I expect nothing less than the playoffs this year. And our goal is really not only to make the playoffs, but the semifinal and perhaps have a chance to make it to the finals.
Terrafirma, which joined Asia’s pioneering pro league back in 2014, has never gotten past the quarterfinals. In the last Philippine Cup, the Dyip won five of their 11 games, a record which was celebrated as an achievement.