It must be special to become part of a PBA grand slam team. As a matter of fact, only four franchises were able to achieve this feat.
Since the PBA has been established in 1975, only five teams have accomplished this feat: the 1976 and 1983 Crispa Redmanizers, the 1989 San Miguel Beermen, the 1996 Alaska Milkmen and the 2013–14 San Mig Super Coffee Mixers.
The 2019 San Miguel Beermen and, until lately, Christian Standhardinger, have a great chance to join this elite company.
You see, San Miguel granted Standhardinger’s “demand” for a trade and shipped him to the Northport Batang Pier.
With the San Miguel ownership perpetuating brilliant moves to put this team in a good position to achieve this feat, it is a wonder why Standhardinger wanted out of this situation.
Moreover, if he wants out, why couldn’t he wait until the end of the year before requesting for the trade? Isn’t that the more appealing situation?
The Backup
According to various reports, being June Mar Fajardo’s backup had a lot to do with Standhardinger’s wish to get out of the San Miguel line-up.
It is a given fact that when one is backing up arguably the greatest center of all-time in the PBA, playing time and opportunities will be hard to come by.
And when one is as talented as Standhardinger, the financial rewards that come along with his talent will also diminish by playing backup.
NFL’s Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo
For non-football fans, these two were once quarterbacks for the New England Patriots, Brady being the starter and Garapollo the backup.
Brady was 37 years old when Garoppolo was drafted in 2014 and was immediately considered to be the likely replacement of what many considered as the greatest quarterback of all-time in football history.
Garoppolo shone brightly during the trickles of the playing time opportunities given him, including winning the two games he started, and proved the hype surrounding him was real.
Together, Brady and Garoppolo won two Super Bowls during their three-year partnership.
As the partnership advanced, the Patriots and Garoppolo eventually faced the dreaded salary cap considerations. Garoppolo was due for a significant pay raise and the Patriots couldn’t afford to pay it if it is intended for a backup quarterback.
The Patriots also knew that if they are to retain Garoppolo in their lineup, they had to let go of their established but aging superstar.
When the Patriots determined that Brady wasn’t done yet in his career, they were left with no option but to trade their young, budding quarterback to the San Francisco 49ers early in 2017 as the cost of retaining him is about to become stiff.
He would go on to win his first five starts with his new team, earning him a 7–0 unblemished record as a starter. As a result, Garoppolo was signed by the 49ers to a $137.5 million contract, the largest in NFL history on an annual basis at that time.
His second season was prematurely ended after he tore his ACL in the 2018 season but is back in the saddle this season, leading the 49ers, one of the only two teams unbeaten as of writing this piece, to a 7-0 record.
Brady, on the other hand, reached the Super Bowl two more times and won one of them to become the player with most rings all time. He just led the Patriots, the other unbeaten team so far, to a 8-0 record.
“C-Stan”, The Man
Standhardinger is the Jimmy Garoppolo of the PBA. He is a talented back-up who is more than capable of carrying a team on his back towards success.
He deserves to be on the floor majority of the time because he can produce numbers and to be paid by his team handsomely by being such.
The only way Standhardinger can unleash his full potential and get his financial dues is he has to be freed from backing up “The Kraken”.
Standhardinger probably understands that it would help enhance his brand a lot if he is among the leaders of a team that will thwart San Miguel from achieving the triple crown this year and win a PBA title someday than staying with San Miguel now and win the grand slam as Fajardo’s backup.
San Miguel also probably gets it that they have to let go of Fajardo if they were to retain Standhardinger. They probably evaluated that they wouldn’t so they let go of the Fil-German center.
In Northport, Standhardinger finds the perfect running mate in Robert Bolick and a decent bunch of PBA title contenders that includes Sean Anthony, Kevin Ferrer, and Jervy Cruz. His addition and their new import this Governor’s Cup are enough to allow the Batang Pier to make some noise and create a solid barrier against the Grand Slam aspirations of the Beermen.
Perfect Timing
The query of why ask to be the traded now rather than waiting at the end of the season can be refuted by asking why not?
It would have been less meaningful had Standhardinger stayed with the Beermen and win a grand slam that would have been credited to Fajardo anyway.
His timing was pinpoint accurate. If he wants to be “the man”, this was the proper time.
His leaving creates a big hole in the SMB bench and if his absence from San Miguel, and his presence in Northport, are clear reasons why the Beermen will not be able to get a grand slam, his value, his stock will go nowhere but up.
While the Northport versus San Miguel Beer matchup was but one game, early returns showed how valuable Standhardinger is for San Miguel in their quest for a grand slam was and what he could do for Northport in preventing the Beermen from completing the quest.
If indeed Standhardinger would go on to “slay the dragon at a time when it is about to conquer the world”, that feat will promote Standhardinger to the PBA’s elite bigmen of all time and give him his big payday in his next contract.
By Armando M. Bolislis
Christian Standhardinger (34) barrels through the tough defense of Meisam Merzaitalarposhti (4) for a lay-up during the FIBA qualifiers. Photo by fiba.basketball
