After missing Gilas Pilipinas’ first practice for the fifth window of the 2019 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, Christian Standhardinger finally made his return on Wednesday evening at the Meralco Gym in Pasig City.
Standhardinger, who is bracing for another showdown with Iran on December 3, suffered a bum stomach last Monday making him miss the session.
Joining him are his San Miguel teammates Arwind Santos, Marcio Lassiter, and June Mar Fajardo.
Still, the Beermen five could not be completed once more, as Alex Cabagnot attended to his duties with the UP Fighting Maroons over at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Completing the night’s cast are Beau Belga, Gabe Norwood, Matthew Wright, Kai Sotto, Jayson Castro, and Troy Rosario.
Ricci Rivero also made it to the session, even if he went to the SM Mall of Asia Arena to celebrate UP’s win.
JP Erram sat out the practice.
Besides Cabagnot, LA Tenorio, Scottie Thompson, Japeth Aguilar, and Greg Slaughter of Ginebra, and Paul Lee and Ian Sangalang of Magnolia missed the practice, as Game 3 of the PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals is taking place at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
Stanley Pringle is still in the States.
The team is preparing for the upcoming fifth window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, where they will host Kazakhstan and Iran on November 30 and December 3 respectively, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
With a current win-loss record of 5-3, the team seeks to maintain a top three position in Group F to book a ticket to the big dance in China next year.
Beforehand, though, Guiao’s men will have friendlies against Jordan and Lebanon to prepare themselves for the Kazakhstan and Iran fixtures.
The Nationals face Jordan on November 19 and 21, followed by Lebanon on November 23 and 25. All four games will be played at the Meralco Gym.
