Ginebra center Christian Standhardinger is the frontrunner in the PBA Governors’ Cup Best Player of the Conference derby for obvious reason.
And there’s no stopping him anytime soon as he doubles down on the driver seat with another string of monstrous performances in the semifinals series between the Kings and the San Miguel Beermen, which the reigning champions lead, 2-0.
The 6-foot-9 slotman proved to be an immovable force to deal with in the two straight win by the Kings, posting averages of 32.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 6.0 assists to steer the team to just a win away from a back-to-back finals trip after ruling the Commissioner’s Cup.
Standhardinger collected his points behind an efficient 65-percent shooting accuracy to gain the unanimous nod as Cignal Play-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week for the period March 22-26.
His teammate Scottie Thompson, Meralco’s Aaron Black and TNT’s Roger Pogoy were also considered for the weekly citation being handed out by the group of print and online media regularly covering the PBA beat.
The Filipino-German ace, winner of the BPC in the 2019 Govs’ Cup, wreaked havoc in Game 1 behind 33 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and a steal as Ginebra drew first blood, 121-112.
Standhardinger sustained the drive by going for 32 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists in another dominant victory by the Kings, 121-103, in Game 2.
The four-time champion and last conference’s Finals MVP had it all while playing over 40 minutes per game for a heavy lifting duty for a Ginebra side that is missing the services of vital cogs Japeth Aguilar and LA Tenorio.
But Standhardinger is not owning up the credits, praising the Kings’ refined chemistry instead as the key that further unleashed his game and beefed-up their title retention bid.
“I mean, it’s just about playing (good) with my guys. I’ve been playing with Justin, Scottie and all those guys for 2 and half years now and we’re just clicking. That’s what coach Tim actually said, you build on top of each other and eventually, that’s where you go,” said the 2017 no.1 overall pick.
“There’s nothing in particular (motivation that fueled his impressive campaign so far). It’s just building on the connection with your teammates.”
Standhardinger and the Kings go for the jugular against the Beermen this Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
