Fil-German cager Christian Standhardinger did not make any excuses.
Not for his injury nor for the two losses that Team Pilipinas suffered in the 2018 FIBA 3×3 World Cup at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.
But the 6’8 Standhardinger said he felt bitter about losing two won games which led to their disqualification from the quarterfinal round.
“I think it’s bitter. For me it’s bitter. I’m happy that we won two games. But we should have won against Canada. And we should have won against Mongolia for sure,” said Standhardinger, who had a knee injury before the tournament.
Team Pilipinas came close to qualifying after their 15-7 win over over Brazil.
But their qualification was derailed first by 11th seed Mongolia, which relied on late baskets from Tserenbaatar Enkhtaivan to frustrate Team Pilipinas in the last two minutes, 21-17.
In that game, Standhardinger tried to keep the 19th seed host team close with a two-point bomb and a drive, 17-19, in the next play.
Against Canada, Michael Linklater drove to the right past Standhardinger in the last 10.1 seconds to power the 14th seed Canada to a 20-19 win over host Philippines in their early afternoon encounter.
The 5’10” Linklater, considered as Canada’s highest-ranked individual player at 50th with 431,400 points, led with nine points and his heroics silenced a hometown crowd and put the Canadians in the quarterfinals.
Mongolia joined Canada in the quarterfinals after their 19-16 win over winless Brazil, with Delgernyam Davaasambuu showing the way with nine points.
Standhardinger said having a lot of experience in playing 3×3 as a team and for a long time is needed.
“Honestly, I feel that we are better and it’s just the lack of experience that happened and that’s why we didn’t win those games,” added Standhardinger.
In the quarterfinal round, top seeded Serbia knocked out Mongolia, 21-8, with Dejan Majstorovic and Marko Savic shooting seven points apiece.
Poland, with Michael Hicks making seven, upset fourth seed Latvia, 21-15, while Slovenia got past Ukraine, 21-15, with Gasper Ovnik making eight points.
The Netherlands, getting 12 points from Dimeo Van der Horst, advanced to the semifinals with their 18-16 win over Canada.
In women’s action, Russia moved into the semifinals with their 21-14 win over the Czech Republic, while France edged Spain, 19-17.