THE Philippine Basketball Association’s top pick Christian Standhardinger leads the national team in the Fiba 3×3 World Cup set from June 8 to 12 at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan.
The 6-foot-8 Standhardinger, who will soon be in a San Miguel Beer uniform, takes his act on the 3×3 stage with the Filipino-German teaming up with Troy Rosario, Roger Pogoy and Stanley Pringle in the 20-team field.
Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas (SBP) President Al Panlilio announced the lineup last Sunday. The men’s team will be handled by Meralco Assistant Coach Ronnie Magsanoc.
“SBP is very focused in developing the 3×3 program because this is an Olympic sport already,” Panlilio said.
The national team is with Brazil, Mongolia, Canada and Russia in Group C.
Bracketed in Group A are Serbia, the Netherlands, Romania, New Zealand and Kyrgyzstan, while Slovenia, Poland, Estonia, Japan and Ecuador are in Group B. Latvia, Ukraine, Croatia, Jordan and Nigeria make up Group D.
Only the top 2 squads in each group will advance to the quarterfinals. Russia is the defending champion when the tournament was held in Nantes, France, last year. The team of Kiefer Ravena, Kobe Paras, Jeron Teng and JR Quiñahan finished 11th in Nantes.
Standhardinger donned the national colors in the 2017 Fiba Asia Cup and Southeast Asian Games in Malaysia while TNT’s Pogoy and Rosario were part of the Gilas Pilipinas program in recent years. Pringle of GlobalPort makes his debut for the flag.
In the women’s division, Coach Patrick Aquino has Afril Bernardino, Jack Animam, Janine Pontejos and Gemma Miranda. The team is grouped with powerhouse European teams Spain, Germany, The Netherlands and Hungary.