Christian: On ‘tours’ of duty for country

KUALA LUMPUR – Playing basketball in practically non-stop in two months and in two high-powered championships could exact its toll to any full-time baller and Christian Standhardinger, who’s now on his third tournament, is no exception.

He’s without rest from the start of their training for the Jones Cup in Chinese Taipei last month. He was a main cog in the Fiba Asia Cup in Beirut, Lebanon, and had to be rushed to Kuala Lumpur to beef up the Gilas cadets, who had just beaten Thailand.

“Well, obviously I feel tired but as an athlete you learn how to play through that. So I feel good as I need to feel to play the game and be hopefully efficient,” said the Fil-German forward/center.

Flying here Saturday from a long trip from Beirut to Manila to Kuala Lumpur, Standhardinger bucked in-roads of fatigue and helped Team Phl to a hard-earned 81-74 decision over Thailand Sunday.

“I feel a little rusty and a little tired. But that’s okay. There’s no excuse,” said Standhardinger, ruing his woeful 7-of-14 foul shooting.

“I should have made my free throws, more free throws. It’s so important. That’s one thing I’m not satisfied with,” he added. “But everything else, I knew I gave my best. I’m very happy that it was enough to pull a victory.”

Standhardinger playing heads-up from a long trip was an inspiration to his teammates.

“How can you not admire Christian?” said Gilas skipper Kiefer Ravena.

“I pity him when he’s missing his free throws. It’s no longer his normal shots. He’s a man, not a machine. He’s getting tired,” Ravena added.

Standhardinger had no problem adjusting in playing with two different groups of players in three days.

He actually enjoyed it.

“It was fun playing with those guys,” he said.

“We had one practice and I picked it off. It’s a little bit also the same plays. Some plays are the same. So I think I did a good job there. I knew where to go,” he added. “But there were mistakes I made. I will watch the video and hopefully I’ll be better the next games.”