CHRISTIAN Standhardinger underlined his value to Barangay Ginebra after delivering on both ends in the team’s 104-94 win over NLEX in Game Two of the PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals on Friday night.
Christian Standhardinger on Ginebra vs NLEX Game 2
Acquired in a blockbuster trade with NorthPort for Greg Slaughter last year, the Gin Kings star big man stepped up in Japeth Aguilar’s absence due to a calf injury, putting up 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting, 11 rebounds, and two assists against six turnovers in 38 minutes.
More than his offense, Standhardinger put the clamps on NLEX import Cameron Clark, who could only muster half of his 30-point output in the series opener.
C-Stan, though, deflected credit to the entire team for the collective effort.
“Just trying to fulfill whatever role is best for the team to give us the biggest chance to win,” Standhardinger said. “I think we did a good job today, just sticking together and trying to somehow compensate for the loss, which is very hard to do because Japeth is an amazing player.”
“But I’m happy. It was good to get the win today, but we have to move on, forget about it, and focus on next game,” he added.
Standhardinger put up a pesky defense on Clark, drawing the import’s last two fouls that left the Road Warriors without a reinforcement with still six minutes and 30 seconds left to play.
“I’m just trying to play as hard as possible,” Standhardinger said on Clark. “He’s a good player. He has a great mid-range shot, so it’s very hard to defend against him.”
“We just tried our best as a team and I’m happy we were able to contain him a little bit today. We kept him under (his output) the last game and that was very important for us to win the game,” he added.
Now, the Gin Kings are one win away from the finals where the 32-year-old Standhardinger has a chance to get his third PBA championship.
“I hope we can make it,” the Fil-German big man said.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph