MANILA, Philippines -- VETERAN PBA stars Christian Standhardinger and Stanley Pringle mark their debut in a Terrafirma uniform as the Dyip take on Converge in their PBA Season 49 Governors' Cup match on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Dyip and the FiberXers clash at 5 p.m, followed by the 7:30 p.m. match between San Miguel Beer and Phoenix.Terrafirma will welcome back in its fold Antonio Hester, who is coming in to replace original choice Brandon Edwards. Edwards tore his ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) last week following a scrimmage game.The FiberXers, meanwhile, will be reinforced by Scotty Hopson, the 34-year-old import who had brief stints with Cleveland, Dallas and Oklahoma City, despite being undrafted in the NBA in 2011.The 6-foot-8 Filipino German and Pringle were shipped by the Barangay Ginebra Kings to the Dyip just a day before the PBA Rookie Draft last month.Even at 35, Standhardinger has shown no signs of slowing down after averaging 19.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists for Ginebra in Season 48.His solid effort even helped him earn another Mythical First Team citation this past season.On the other hand, 6-foot-1 Pringle averaged 9.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists, mostly coming off the bench for Ginebra last season.Both veteran stars could easily turn a Terrafirma side into a playoff contender as they bring in their tons of championship experience, along with the instant offense of 2021 Most Improved Player Juami Tiongson.The game will also see the debut of Franco Atienza as Converge's interim coach following the recent parting of ways with Aldin Ayo. Helping Atienza at the sideline are new assistant coach Charles Tiu and Serbian Rajko Toroman, who has been appointed consultant.The game also marks the return of multi-titled guard Alex Cabagnot, who recently signed a new deal with the FiberXers.The 41-year-old Cabagnot will be facing the Dyip, his former team, with whom he last played last year, before having a brief stint in the Korean Basketball League. Read The Rest at :
