MANILA, Philippines – People may not see it yet, but Christian Standhardinger envisions NorthPort becoming a great team in the future. 

Standhardinger lauded his team for reaching as far as the Final 4 of the PBA Governors’ Cup before bowing out to Barangay Ginebra in 4 games in their best-of-five semifinals clash on Friday, December 20. 

Although they failed to accomplish their goal of advancing to the finals for the first time in franchise history, Standhardinger believes their semifinals exit did not take anything away from what they achieved.

“I hate losing, obviously, it comes with a bad taste. But I know my guys, we let it all out. I think it’s a huge accomplishment to be [one of] the best 4 teams in this conference,” the Filipino-German workhorse said. 

If anything, the Batang Pier overachieved by making the semifinals.

NorthPort became only the fourth No. 8 team in PBA history to take down the top-seeded team when it overcame a twice-to-beat disadvantage and stunned No. 1 NLEX in the quarterfinals. 

Their magic run carried over in the semifinals, where the Batang Pier drew first blood against the Gin Kings via a surprising 34-point romp. 

But injuries to key cogs Robert Bolick, Sol Mercado, and Kevin Ferrer soon caught up with NorthPort as it lost the next 3 games and bowed out of contention. 

Still, Standhardinger can hold his head up high knowing that these experiences will shape the Batang Pier next season. 

“We can be a great team because we’re all humble. There are no egos and we’re just trying to figure out how to win,” Standhardinger said. 

“This was a huge step in the right direction of a winning culture. Nobody sees it because we got beat, but I see it, we see it, the coaches see it, and we’re just going to keep building on that.” – Rappler.com