The San Miguel Beermen have all but won the Christian Standhardinger sweepstakes after acquiring Kia’s rights for the No. 1 pick in the PBA Rookie Draft slated Oct. 29 at the Robinsons Place in Ermita, Manila.
Sources confirmed the deal that would send veteran Jay-R Reyes, Keith Agovida and rookie Rashawn McCarthy to the Picanto in exchange for the top pick, pending the approval of PBA Commissioner Chito Narvasa.
The deal could be approved as early as Monday when the league resumes office work.
Should Narvasa give the trade a thumbs-up sign, it would pave the way for the Beermen to make the 6-foot-7 Fil-German the first name called in the draft proceeding.
It would also make San Miguel a more-formidable squad, with Standhardinger teaming up with 6-foot-10 Gilas Pilipinas teammate and four-time Most Valuable Player winner June Mar Fajardo.
The Beermen also have Chris Ross, Alex Cabagnot, Arwind Santos and Marcio Lassiter.
Standhardinger, however, is expected to miss the early portion of the PBA season to play for the Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions in the ASEAN Basketball League which runs from November to April.
Kia had made its intentions known of dealing the top pick in exchange for veteran players, a move that is nothing for the franchise that first made its pro entry in 2014.
Two years ago, the then-Mahindra Enforcer sent No. 2 selection Troy Rosario to TNT in a three-team deal involving NLEX. In return, the team received Aldrech Ramos and KG Canaleta from NLEX and Rob Reyes from TNT.
