MANILA, Philippines – Christian Standhardinger's first practice with San Miguel Beer painted a stark contrast to the hype that hovered over the lead-up to his arrival.
For starters, Leo Austria, starting point guard Chris Ross and the Filipino-German forward swiftly tempered expectations.
"OK naman siya," the perpetual champion coach said shortly after the team’s training at the Acropolis Clubhouse in Libis.
"If you noticed, he’s tired pa. Alam naman natin, the past 10 months, he keeps on playing."
"I just told him he has to take care of his body dahil wear and tear eh. ‘Yun ang nangyari sa kaniya so we’ll give him time to recover dahil pwede namin i-give up ‘yung physical condition niya, but ‘yung mental conditioning that is what is important because we’re running a lot of plays eh. And we have a system on defense. We have a lot of rules. So they should know that right away before our first game," Austria added.
Chris Ross, the team's top defensive specialist and the only starter in town (the other four are all taking time enjoying their break, according to Austria), opined that it's too much to expect a lot from Standhardinger in his first day since he is still coming from a stint – unfortunately, a losing one – with Hong Kong Eastern in the Asean Basketball League.
Standhardinger is set to debut with the Beermen against the Meralco Bolts on May 9 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Learn more from our interview with the versatile forward and the multi-time national team member: