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PBA: With no pressure to score, Standhardinger flourishes with Ginebra

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Ginebra forward Christian Standhardinger drives to the basket against Meralco in Game 5 of the 2021 PBA Governors" Cup="" Finals.="" PBA="" media="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/sports/04/18/04182022-ginebra-forward-christian-standhardinger-drives.jpg"/><figcaption>Ginebra forward Christian Standhardinger drives to the basket against Meralco in Game 5 of the 2021 PBA Governors&#x27; Cup Finals. PBA Media Bureau.</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA, Philippines -- He is putting up fewer points and rebounds, but Christian Standhardinger is making more impact than ever for Barangay Ginebra.The Filipino-German forward is averaging just 14.4 points and 8.1 rebounds per game in the on-going PBA Governors&#x27; Cup. It&#x27;s his lowest marks since the 2019 edition of the conference when he was still playing for San Miguel, ahead of his trade to the NorthPort Batang Pier.Yet Standhardinger is delighted with how he&#x27;s performing for Ginebra, as he embraces his role in a team that does not require him to put up big scoring numbers.&quot;It&#x27;s much better now,&quot; Standhardinger said of his adjustment to the Gin Kings.He was acquired by Ginebra in May 2021 in exchange for Greg Slaughter, and averaged a double-double of 14.5 points and 11.4 rebounds in the Philippine Cup. But he shot just 45.7% from the field and appeared to struggle in Tim Cone&#x27;s system.According to Standhardinger, a conversation with Ginebra team governor Alfrancis Chua helped him with his adjustment to the squad.&quot;What really helped me a lot is Boss Al. Boss Al told me, &#x27;Hey, we don&#x27;t need you to do anything too special, we don&#x27;t need you to score 30 points or 25 points, we just need you to help the team to win.&#x27; And Coach Tim told me the same thing,&quot; he revealed.&quot;That gives a lot of security for a player if I know that I don&#x27;t have to force anything and I can just be the best team player I can be,&quot; he added. &quot;And people underestimate that.&quot;&quot;They underestimate how much it helps when you tell a player that. In other teams -- I played in Europe, I played in Germany, I played in Hong Kong -- you kinda have to score, and if you don&#x27;t score, but you do all the other work that is not there in the stat sheet, then they will be mad at you and they will tell that you&#x27;re not playing good.&quot;But in a Ginebra squad that features plenty of offensive options -- especially in this conference with prolific import Justin Brownlee in the fold -- there is no pressure for Standhardinger to take charge offensively the way he did in his brief stint at NorthPort.&quot;I&#x27;m very happy that Boss Al and Coach Tim, they see the other things that I bring to the court. There&#x27;s no pressure, and I just can truly focus on winning it,&quot; said Standhardinger. &quot;And that helps me a lot. And I think that&#x27;s why I had a much easier time to adjust.&quot;Standhardinger has mostly focused on his role in Ginebra&#x27;s defense, serving as their primary option against other teams&#x27; imports. But in Game 5 of the 2021 PBA Governors&#x27; Cup finals against the Meralco Bolts, he showed that he can still score when called upon.The 32-year-old big man drilled back-to-back jump shots to end a long drought for Ginebra in the fourth quarter, helping them take control anew after the Bolts came within a point. A triple by Scottie Thompson capped their burst, and the Gin Kings went on to win, 115-110.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/04/17/22/hot-shooting-ginebra-takes-down-meralco-for-3-2-lead">GAME RECAP: Hot-shooting Ginebra takes down Meralco for 3-2 lead</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/04/18/22/cone-hails-ginebras-veteran-poise-amid-meralco-fightback">READ: Cone hails Ginebra&#x27;s veteran poise amid Meralco fightback</a></li></ul>&quot;He&#x27;s knocking down his jumper, and that is awesome because that adds a weapon to his game and people can&#x27;t just sit in the paint on him,&quot; Cone said of Standhardinger. &quot;He works really hard on his shot. You can&#x27;t believe how hard he works.&quot;&quot;[He] comes in every practice, and probably gets up to three or four hundred shots every practice,&quot; the coach added. Standhardinger, for his part, said he was simply glad to have contributed to a victory. Ginebra now has a 3-2 lead against Meralco in the best-of-seven series, and can clinch the championship on Wednesday&#x27;s Game 6.&quot;I knew we needed something, right. We needed something. And I just wanted to play within the offense of Coach Tim and then they gave me that shot, and then I took it,&quot; he said.&quot;Sometimes it goes in, sometimes it doesn&#x27;t go in and you can just give your best. That&#x27;s what my mother always told me, give your best,&quot; he added. &quot;I gave it my best shot and I&#x27;m happy it went in today and I was able to contribute to our victory today.&quot;

He is putting up fewer points and rebounds, but Christian Standhardinger is making more impact than ever for Barangay Ginebra.

PBA: With no pressure to score, Standhardinger flourishes with Ginebra

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PBA: With no pressure to score, Standhardinger flourishes with Ginebra

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published April 18, 2022 10:00 PM PHT

Read More:

basketball

PBA

PBA Governors' Cup

Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings

Christian Standhardinger

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