Christian Standhardinger has no complaints about his ejection early in Game Two of his San Miguel Beermen’s 2019 PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series versus the Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters, Monday night.
The 6-foot-8 forward got thrown out of the match with 6:10 to go in the second frame for incurring a flagrant foul penalty two, after he hit Phoenix forward Calvin Abueva in the face when they were entangled while on the floor.
“If the ref calls that, that’s just how it is,” said Standhardinger, who exited with only two points and four rebounds.
The Fil-German cager clarified that he did not hit Abueva intentionally, asserting that it was an accident. The 6-foot-2 forward was seen writhing in pain after the incident, and it took him a while before getting back to his feet.
“He pulled me down and then I fell down and I tried to run away – or tried to run back on defense – and I accidentally hit him. Obviously, I feel sorry for accidentally [hitting him],” Standhardinger explained.
“But I think he’s fine, he played all game. That’s what happened. Obviously, it was a tough call to go to F2 but you know, that’s how it is,” added the league sophomore added. “They played hard and we played hard and accidents happen.
“You just got to keep playing and obviously, there’s nothing personal.“
But even if it had been a rough night for him, Standhardinger is satisfied that his Beermen managed to pull through even without him, as they reigned victorious after trailing for the majority of the game, 92-82.
“The whole team was able to knock them out and get another important victory. We need two more to go and hopefully, we can make it to the finals.”
