Standhardinger pours 40 points against Vampire

Christian Standhardinger continued to provide teasers of what he can possibly do in the PBA after scoring 40 points in Hong Kong Eastern's 112-105 victory over Mono Vampire in their ASEAN Basketball League held Friday in Bangkok, Thailand.

The top overall pick of the San Miguel Beermen in the PBA Rookie Draft made 15-of-21 shots, including a tough fallaway shot over Mono import Patrick Sanders in the dying seconds that gave Hong Kong a 108100 lead and eventually Hong Kong's third win in as many games.

Standhardinger also had 17 rebounds, 10 of which came on the offensive glass, with three assists and five steals in his most-productive performance since signing with the defending ABL champions last August.

But Standhardinger, however, was quick to point out his miscues instead of savoring on the scoring output that fell a point shy of tying Matthew Wright's record for an ASEAN Heritage Import in a single game.

“Actually today was not a good day, I had three easy lay-ups that I missed so I apologize to my teammates cause I messed up their assists but everything else, the victory is the most important thing so it worked out,” Standhardinger said as quoted by the ABL's official website.

The Beermen, however, may have flashed a wide grin after seeing the statline, perhaps hoping that his early-season form would carry over to the PBA once his Hong Kong duties are completed.

The 6-foot-8 Fil-German is contracted to play six months for Hong Kong and is expected to make his San Miguel debut during the Commissioner's Cup.

His 40-point performance came days after leading Hong Kong to a hard-fought 87-78 overtime victory over Indonesia's CLS Knights in Surabaya. In that game, Standhardinger hit three pressure-packed free throws late in regulation to force a five-minute extension.