BARANGAY Ginebra Head Coach Tim Cone looks forward to an exciting matchup between his twin-tower tandem of Greg Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar and an equally tall and bulky duo of June Mar Fajardo and incoming rookie Christian Standhardinger of San Miguel Beer.
A 20-time Philippine Basketball Association champion coach, Cone believes that the addition of Standhardinger to the already deep San Miguel roster will be a headache for all the teams in the league.
Standing at 6-foot-9, the Filipino-German is expected to wreck havoc inside the lane alongside four-time Most Valuable Player Fajardo, who is a cut above the rest with his excellent skill-set and towering presence at 6-foot-10.
“He’s such a huge guy, very talented. We will try to do as much against him,” Cone said as he reflects on the idea of playing against the No.1 overall pick in the recent rookie draft.
Standhardinger played for the national team as a replacement for Andray Blatche in the William Jones Cup and Fiba Asia Cup in Beirut. He is completing his commitment with Asean Basketball League team Hong Kong Eastern and will be available in May for the Beermen.
Standhardinger’s international portfolio is a strong asset when he debuts in the PBA, according to Cone.
“It will be very hard,” Cone said.
But the multititled coach is confident with his own set of big men.
“We have the big bodies who can stand in front of them. We have a chance,” he said.