Christian Standhardinger had been a constant figure for Gilas since 2017.
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s Christian Standhardinger has announced his retirement from Gilas Pilipinas duties.
This comes just days after winning the men’s 5-on-5 basketball gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia.
Standhardinger took to social media to pen a heartfelt message about his time with Gilas, especially during the finals versus Cambodia where the 6-foot-9 big man was dealing with swollen knees.
“I knew that my body could not withstand the double duty, and unfortunately, nothing showed that more clearly than this tournament,” Standhardinger said in his post.
Despite this, Standhardinger battled through the match, contributing 9 points and 7 rebounds in around 22 minutes.
Playing for Gilas since 2017, the Filipino-German captured his third SEA Games gold medal, only skipping last year’s edition of the games.
But out of all the SEA Games tournaments that he has played, Standhardinger said that this latest gold medal win holds a “special place in his heart.”
“It’s an absolute privilege to witness a team coming together in such a unique and remarkable way,” said Standhardinger. “My journey in the Philippines began with a SEA Games gold medal and it seems fitting that it concludes with one as well.”
Now at 33 years old, Standhardinger will be focusing on his PBA career with Ginebra, but he knows that Gilas is in good hands with the likes of Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser and Michael Phillips, who he already praised shortly after winning the gold.
“The future of Philippine basketball is in good hands, and this brings me both relief and joy,” said Standhardinger.
Gilas fans will definitely have a lot to thank CStan for given his numerous contributions to the country in several international tournaments.