Fajardo wows Standhardinger

JUNE Mar Fajardo tests the defense of Christian Standhardinger.

Christian Standhardinger’s first duel with June Mar Fajardo last Wednesday served as wake-up call for the former No. 1 overall pick.

The Filipino-German forward said he did okay but admitted, he still has a lot of work to do in order to matchup well with the five-time Most Valuable Player.

Standhardinger’s NorthPort downed Fajardo’s San Miguel Beer, 127-119, in the first meeting of the two teams since the trade, where the Beermen got Mo Tautuaa in return.

“I thought I did a great job. I worked so hard to stop him (Fajardo). It’s so hard to stop this dude. He still scored 22 points, had a great percentage. He’s a great basketball player. I have nothing but respect for him but if you look at the stats sheet you’ll be like ‘oh he still got 22 points and he’s still shooting great percentages but that’s all I got for him.” he said.

“I think I’m going to watch more films to really figure out how I can do better against him. But he’s an awesome player and I have really nothing but respect for the guy.”

The 2017 first overall pick had a solid Batang Pier debut with 18 points, five rebounds and seven assists and more importantly got the victory over his former team.

And for the first time in his career, Standhardinger was pitted against the 6-foot-10 Fajardo, who finished with 22 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field and hauled down seven rebounds.

“June Mar is a great player. I’m happy that I hit that shot over him and have our team to win,” Standhardinger said.

Fajardo brushed off their head-to-head duel with his former teammate and said they need to move on from the loss.

“Its not about us; its about San Miguel and NorthPort. They won. We win as a team and we lose as a team. We’ll just have to bounce back in our next game,” Fajardo said.