MANILA, Philippines – Phoenix import Eugene Phelps had said that San Miguel is just a “regular team” sans superstar June Mar Fajardo, so Christian Standhardinger made sure to remind him that he just got beaten – quite convincingly – by this supposedly average squad. 

Standhardinger rubbed salt into the wound as he mocked Phelps after the Beermen thwarted the Fuel Masters by 17 points in the 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup on Friday, October 12. 

“I hope he doesn’t take this too tough because he just lost by 17 to a regular team. I hope he’s okay,” the Filipino-German told reporters after the game. 

Standhardinger’s sarcasm, of course, alluded to Phelps’ bold statement that San Miguel isn’t as powerful without the reigning four-time league Most Valuable Player, who is still nursing a fractured shin.  

Coming off a convincing 26-point win over NLEX last Wednesday, October 10, the hulking Phoenix reinforcement gave his thoughts on the Fuel Masters’ upcoming clash against the Beermen. 

“They’re a great team you know but honestly, without June Mar, they’re a regular team. I mean we just got to play our game and I think we’ll be fine,” Phelps said. 

Apparently, the comment fired up Standhardinger and Co. as they played one of their best basketball in the season-ending conference to snap a three-game skid. 

Standhardinger, for one, poured in team-highs of 29 points and 14 rebounds to go with 3 assists and 2 blocks. 

Phelps, on the other hand, saw his herculean output of 37 points, 26 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 blocks go down the drain.

“I hope he doesn’t feel too bad about this because he just lost by 17 against a regular team. That can be tough for the mental and the psychology behind the player so shout-out to him. I hope he’s fine,” Standhardinger said. 

Even by wishing June Mar’s recovery to speed up, the No. 1 overall pick took a playful jab at the import. 

“[I] hope June Mar is gonna come back as soon as possible so we can be a great team again. Right now, we’re just a regular team but we still beat them by 17 so that’s good news,” Standhardinger added. 

“I think we overperformed today because for all regular standards, that was really over our skills, over what we can play. We went all out today and that was great.”

The Beermen shoot for a second straight win against TNT on October 20 at the Calasiao Sports Complex in Pangasinan. – Rappler.com