ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider PBA: Japeth Aguilar, Christian Standhardinger ready to assume mantle of dominance in June Mar Fajardo's absence

PBA: Japeth Aguilar, Christian Standhardinger ready to assume mantle of dominance in June Mar Fajardo's absence

Published Mar 8, 2020 12:00 am
By Jonas Terrado JAPETH AGUILAR, left, and CHRISTIAN STANDHARDINGER JAPETH AGUILAR, left, and CHRISTIAN STANDHARDINGER The absence of June Mar Fajardo has opened the door for fellow big men to prosper even more as the PBA kicked off its 45th season Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s Japeth Aguilar and NorthPort’s Christian Standhardinger are being groomed to take the torch from the San Miguel Beer after being labeled preseason picks to win the coveted Most Valuable Player. Fajardo is expected to take an unprecedented sixth MVP plum in the Leo Awards but a fractured right shin sustained last month will cut short the streak as he misses the duration of the Philippine Cup. With that, Aguilar and Standhardinger could see themselves putting up an MVP season, especially after coming off a strong showing in the PBA Governors’ Cup. Aguilar was Finals MVP when Ginebra beat Meralco for the title while Standhardinger became Best Player of the Conference after steering NorthPort to the semifinals following his arrival from San Miguel. And then there’s Poy Erram, who could be the missing piece in TNT KaTropa’s bid to finally end SMB’s reign in the season’s most important tournament. Christian Standhardinger, right, guards June Mar Fajardo in the post during his debut with NorthPort. Standhardinger and Fajardo lead the Best Player of the Conference race in the PBA Governors' Cup. (PBA Images) Christian Standhardinger, right, guards June Mar Fajardo in the post during his debut with NorthPort. Standhardinger and Fajardo lead the Best Player of the Conference race in the PBA Governors' Cup. (PBA Images) A lot was done in order for TNT to finally secure the services of Erram, whose presence in the middle should give the KaTropa enough reason to feel confident of their chances. Erram joins a talented side led by Jayson Castro, Roger Pogoy, Troy Rosario and Ray Parks Jr. and will have more things to learn from active consultant Mark Dickel, who coached the former NLEX big man during the recent FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers match against Indonesia. Raymond Almazan’s absence and the departure of Erram leave Meralco and NLEX in a quandary as to how it compete minus a quality frontline asset. There’s also Phoenix Super LPG (formerly-Phoenix Pulse) being without Dave Marcelo and Jake Pascual and Blackwater looking for way for 35-year-old rookie Maurice Shaw to be that needed inside presence. Being under the radar could be beneficial for Magnolia, which still the talented Ian Sangalang, even as Alaska could see a productive campaign from Vic Manuel. Despite the lack of height, Rain or Shine has shown its capability to compete against bigger teams while several hard-nosed players could be key in Columbian’s quest for a playoff spot. But all remain focused on SMB, which remains an interesting team with Fajardo out and talented players capable of maintaining their winning ways.
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.