It was a busy day at the Gatorade Hoops Center in Mandaluyong City, as the brightest aspirants in Philippine basketball converged for Day 1 of the 2017 PBA Rookie Combine. Of the 44 hopefuls present, there was one who that was nowhere to be found — consensus top pick Christian Standhardinger.
Standhardinger, 28, was last seen in the country during the preparations for the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup and Southeast Asian Games.
Since October 1, the 6-foot-8 Filipino-German has been in Hong Kong training with his ABL team Hong Kong Eastern Sports Club. Standhardinger needs to submit a letter to the league stating why he missed this activity.
Kiefer Ravena, Raymar Jose, Jason Perkins, Jeron Teng, and Jett Manuel headline the prospects present, while Rey Nambatac had to leave at around 12:00nn, as his college team Letran Knights are still alive in the NCAA.
The last time a prospect did not attend the combine was back in 2014, when Manny Pacquiao missed the exercise. Pacquiao was still drafted by the Kia franchise at 11th.
