Christian Standhardinger would rather retire than continue his PBA career with the Terrafirma Dyip and I don’t blame him.
I think we are in a time when the players know better. Vic Manuel and Stanley Pringle see Terrafirma as an opportunity to get back their superstar tags, even if with a lower-tier squad. That said, players like C-Stan and possibly Terrence Romeo see Terrafirma as a demotion.
Let’s just remember that C-Stan is a proud player. He chose to play in the PBA when the time was right, but also when his import offers were a mixed bag. He loved the winning system in San Miguel, but he hated playing behind June Mar Fajardo, especially with Arwind Santos still in peak form. He also thrived in Northport despite its farm team tag, and I guess the reason why he’s okay with the move to Ginebra is because he knows the team is a championship contender and he’s going there to replace Greg Slaughter.
That said, C-Stan has had enough with Tim Cone’s system, and the SMC would rather keep the mentor than their disgruntled Mythical Teamer. Ginebra has been on a tear since he arrived and it also helps that he’s the coach of Gilas Pilipinas.
So Standhardinger is out of Terrafirma, but they still have his rights.
What to do?
For starters, they can trade him. The best landing spot for C-Stan for me is NLEX because they never really had a dominant inside presence. However, Terrafirma is not going to deal with the “other” side, especially if they are bent on staying true to their “farm team” tag.
This puts the spotlight on Converge, which is my suggestion.
I know Bonnie Tan and Fran Yu have something going on in Northport, but getting a first-round pick with King Caralipio, Jeo Ambohot, and Pao Javillonar would be awesome. Alongside Louie Sangalang, Brent Paraiso, and Tommy Olivario, they form a huge chunk of the Letran Knights squad that finished without flaws in NCAA Season 98. I remember how scary it was for teams to battle the Knights that also had Rhenz Abando, former Terrafirma Dyip Allen Mina, and current Meralco Bolt Kurt Reyson. Not only was this team loaded with swagger, but they were also making insane plays.
Now that I think about it, my theory of Terrafirma tanking to get Kevin Quiambao is out of the window. That said, there is one player who’s on some sort of basketball sabbatical at the moment. Abando might be a stretch, letting him “train” in Terrafirma may not be a bad idea.
Converge will probably like the idea of having Standhardinger as well, although this would set their selves up for a beautiful predicament. The FiberXers are slowly seeing the development of Justine Baltazar but at the same time, this is slowly destroying what they had with Justin Arana. If they get C-Stan, he'll probably replace the position of Cheick Diallo for the Philippine Cup, and again, this would stunt the growth of the former Arellano Chief.
But oh well, this is not that much of a problem, considering that Converge gleefully took on the challenge of having Jordan Heading despite already having Alec Stockton, Schonny Winston, and Alex Cabagnot.
Anyway, if there’s one way to bring fans to Terrafirma, it’s by slapping the Letran badge on their players.
Let C-Stan go and just have players who would love playing for the squad.