LAST March, Barangay Ginebra and NorthPort figured in one of the biggest trades in the PBA when the Gin Kings acquired Christian Standhardinger in exchange for fellow big man Greg Slaughter.
Half a year later, let's see how the two players, and both teams, have fared.
Based on the team’s win-loss records alone, it is NorthPort that has so far reaped the benefits of the trade, with the Batang Pier finishing the Philippine Cup with a 6-5 win-loss record and the No. 5 seed in the quarterfinals.
On the other hand, the reigning champions Gin Kings ironically needed a lift from a NorthPort victory over Alaska to keep their playoff hopes alive and barely clinched the No. 8 seed after beating Phoenix Super LPG in a do-or-die on Saturday.
As for the two players that were involved in the trade, one of them has seen a significant spike in their numbers. And it's not C-Stan.
GREG SLAUGHTER
During the Gin Kings’ run to the 2019 Governors’ Cup crown, Slaughter averaged 8.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks in 18 games, a slight increase to the 8.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks he posted during the Commissioner’s Cup of the same year.
Slaughter, of course, missed the 2020 campaign for Ginebra after taking a sabbatical to train in the US in a bid to improve on his game. The break paid off for Slaughter as his numbers saw a marked improvement when he moved to NorthPort.
Slaughter played for only six games for the Batang Pier in the eliminations, but made a major impact each time, averaging 16.3 points, a league-leading 10.6 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks. He has been proficient from the field as well, shooting 49.5 percent - an improvement from his 47 percent and 49.2 percent clips during the Commissioner’s Cup and Governors’ Cup, respectively.
CHRISTIAN STANDHARDINGER
On the other hand, Standhardinger’s numbers saw a decline after his move to Ginebra. After averaging 22.7 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 1.4 steals during his Best Player of the Conference victory in the 2019 Governors’ Cup with the Batang Pier, Standhardinger's averages dipped to 19.9 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 1.3 steals.
At Ginebra, where he had to work within Tim Cone's triangle offense, Standhardinger still posted double-double numbers but not as impressive as those from his NorthPort days, as he averaged 14.3 points and 10.8 rebounds during the 2021 Philippine Cup eliminations. He contributed 0.6 steals a game for the Gin Kings.
The Fil-German, at least, got the better of their first match-up since the trade, putting up a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds and hitting the game-winner in the Gin Kings' 87-85 win over NorthPort last July 30. Slaughter led the Batang Pier with 16 points and 14 rebounds.
NORTHPORT
With Slaughter, NorthPort has become the league's top team in terms of rebounding and blocks, averaging a league-best 45.4 and 5.3 in both categories respectively, a far cry from last year’s bubble campaign where they finished 11th in both.
BARANGAY GINEBRA
Despite the addition of Standhardinger, Ginebra is fifth in rebounds this season, a drop from second during their 2020 Philippine Cup campaign.
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