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

By Jonas Terrado

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.

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.

Source: Manila Bulletin