Rosario excited to team up with Standhardinger, Cruz in SEAG

Rosario excited to team up with Standhardinger, Cruz in SEAG

Rosario excited to team up with Standhardinger, Cruz in SEAG
PBA

Rosario excited to team up with Standhardinger, Cruz in SEAG

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By Michael Angelo S. Murillo

SAW how Christian Standhardinger and Carl Bryan Cruz made a good account of themselves in the recent FIBA Asia Cup, Gilas Pilipinas big man Troy Rosario said he is very excited to team up with the two as they begin their quest for the gold in the ongoing 29th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

Part of the 12-man team seeing action in the regional biennial meet, Messrs. Standhardinger and Cruz are doing double duty for the national team as they were also part of the Gilas squad that saw action in the just-concluded FIBA Asia Cup in Beirut, Lebanon, where the Philippines finished seventh overall.

Mr. Standhardinger actually already played for the Philippines in its SEA Games debut win over Thailand late Sunday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, while Mr. Cruz is set to join the team for its next assignments albeit his status is still unknown since there are already moves to replace him with fellow cadet Mac Belo, who is with the team for the Games.

For Mr. Rosario, the addition of Mr. Standhardinger, and Mr. Cruz if ever, is a boon to the team and to him personally.

“They will be a big help especially in giving firepower in the front court. At the FIBA Asia Cup they had a good showing offensively. Their length and energy are also aspects that should help us in the SEA Games,” said Mr. Rosario in an interview with BusinessWorld during their send-off last week that was hosted by staunch team backer Chooks-to-Go.

“If they were not part of the team it would only be me and Raymar Jose who are the bigs. Personally, I welcome their addition, especially Christian, since with his length I get to move to the three or four spot since the lineup added height. Add to this the fact that this is nothing new to them since they already played with the ‘big boys’ in the FIBA Asia Cup. They are already used to the pressure,” the Talk ’N Text KaTropa player added.

And the partnership between Messrs. Rosario and Standhardinger paid immediate dividends as they played a pivotal role in hacking out a hard-earned victory for the Philippines over Thailand in their first game, 81-74.

The two had a double-double with Mr. Rosario finishing with a team-high 16 points to go along with 10 rebounds and Filipino-German Standhardinger recording 15 points and 10 boards to help their team to the victory.

Mr. Rosario went on to say that they have to continue improving as the tournament progresses since nothing will be given to them easy, even if the Philippines is the recognized “king of basketball” in the region.

“We are playing with pride since we are the defending champion and we are known for basketball well in the region. But we must guard against any complacency because anything can happen in basketball and there is no room for relaxing,” said Mr. Rosario.

Gilas Pilipinas returns to action today against Myanmar at 6 p.m.