Ginebra Weekly Observations: Let’s sit down and appreciate Standhardinger’s playmaking masterclass

By: Isaiah Flores

Here are some rapid-fire Barangay Ginebra observations following Week 4 of the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup.

THE WEEK THAT WAS

The week started with Barangay Ginebra falling short on Friday against the San Miguel Beermen 99-102 despite a late comeback attempt. Ginebra shot a conference-low eight three-pointers, which made it harder for the team to keep up with the Beermen.

But the Gin Kings quickly bounced back two days later with a strong outing against Blackwater. The squad scored a staggering 119 points, outclassing the Bossing by 26 points.

With the defending champs’ decisive win over Blackwater, they’ve managed to secure the fifth spot in the standings with a 4-2 record.

Key Stats

Ginebra’s numbers are overall better than what they tallied from last week. This uptick can be attributed to their dominant showing against Blackwater, in which they shot an absurd 61.5% from the field and 55.2% from deep.

Due to this week’s output, the Gin Kings still remain the league’s most efficient shooting team with their league-best 50.5% from the field and 39.1% from three-point distance.

You read that right – they’re the best three-point shooting team in the league at the moment. You wouldn’t particularly call a team that shoots an average of 30.7 three-pointers per game a good shooting team, but for the amount of threes they take, they actually make a decent amount at 12.0 per game in the conference.

STANDOUT OF THE WEEK: Christian Standhardinger

With Japeth Aguilar’s availability still in question, it was Christian Standhardinger who stepped up and shined the brightest for Ginebra.

In roughly 36 minutes a game, the 33-year-old forward averaged 28.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 6.0 assists on an efficient 62.3% shooting from the field. During the stretch, Standhardinger acted as the team’s playmaking hub, responsible for assisting on 35 of Ginebra’s 86 total field goals.

PLAY OF THE WEEK: LA Tenorio paint touch off the 45 cut

For the play of the week, it’s a backdoor play that ended up with a Justin Brownlee layup.

The play started with an empty side pick and roll to force the defense to switch, in which Blackwater did a good job not to. Ginebra then reversed the ball to the trailing Standhardinger, who was ready to engage in a three-player molecule involving LA Tenorio and Jeremiah Gray. McCarthy then overshot Tenorio’s lane, resulting in a 45 cut to the basket in which Ato Ular was forced to help, leaving Brownlee for an open layup.

That three-player molecule off the trail can execute different looks depending on what the defense gives them. From an earlier play, here we can see Ginebra flow into a Chicago action (a pindown into a handoff) which led to a Brownlee-Standhardinger pick and roll.

STAT OF THE WEEK: 52.4% field goal shooting

In both of Ginebra’s games this week, the team shot an average of 52.4% from the field. That high number can be attributed to their average of 52 points in the paint per game while also having 61 of their 86 total field goals assisted.

Displaying great ball movement, the team shot up their conference averages to league-best 51% field goal shooting.

THE ROAD AHEAD

• Meralco Bolts (Wednesday, March 1)
• Phoenix Super LPG (Friday, March 3)
• Converge FiberXers (Sunday, March 5)

For the defending champs, the upcoming week will be a busy one. As they continue to fight for a twice-to-beat advantage for the playoffs, playing against heavily contrasted styles of opponents can be a tricky one to navigate, especially on a cramped schedule.

A few things to keep an eye on:

• After starting in Ginebra’s first four games Jeremiah Gray came off the bench in both games this week. In roughly 24 minutes, the 26-year-old wingman averaged 11.0 points on an efficient 50% shooting from the field.
• Ginebra is averaging 22.5 more points in wins compared to their losses. The drastic difference may have a correlation with their three-point output.

Despite the unfortunate loss against San Miguel, it’s been a decent week for Ginebra. The team is clearly trying to fine-tune their player rotations, looking for playing groups that mesh well together. Offensively, a little more consistency would be nice. But overall, the long break allows Gin Kings to have enough time to build upon what they’ve already started so far.

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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.