POY Erram knows it’s not going to be easy taking Christian Standhardinger one-on-one come the finals of the PBA Governors Cup between Barangay Ginebra and TNT.
Poy Erram on defending C-Stan
Good thing, the Tropang Giga’s defensive structure is not designed for only a single coverage.
“Laging ini-emphasize ng mga coach namin, we’re a team built na hindi kami nagbi-base sa individual defense. We’re more of a team defense,” said the 6-foot-8 Erram, who will be playing in his third finals appearance with the franchise.
Erram’s significance at the TNT frontcourt will be further magnified in the best-of-seven series as he’s expected to take on the 6-foot-8 Standhardinger in the battle of the big men.
The Fil-German center of course, has been playing his best basketball as he currently leads the race for the Best Player of the Conference award with an all-around average of 23.5 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 5.8 assists.
But while he takes on the challenge of trying to slow down Standhardinger, Erram knows it would need a collective defensive effort for the entire Tropang Giga to hold down Standhardinger or any other Ginebra player for that matter.
“Kahit na ba sabihin mo na kailangan mong ma-stop yan, alam mong may katulong ka,” said the veteran TNT slotman.
“Pero hindi ka puwedeng mag-rely sa help defense. Siyempre, take pride ka pa rin (sa individual defense). Pero alam namin whatever happens sa loob, alam namin may tutulong sa amin. Kasi yun ang structure ng team, yun yung sistema namin.”
Erram just began to suit up for the Tropang Giga during the playoffs after undergoing procedure on his knee during the eliminations.
“Ano pa siguro nasa 70 to 80 percent pa,” he said of his health condition. “Pero health-wise, yung tuhod ko ok naman. 100 percent (siya).”
Erram would indeed, be the main man for TNT at the frontcourt, with help coming from Justin Chua, Dave Marcelo, and hopefully, Kelly Williams if he gets to play in the series.
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