Tim Cone doesn't see Christian Standhardinger having a hard time integrating himself within the culture of Barangay Ginebra.
The presence of veteran players LA Tenorio, Joe Devance, and Mark Caguioa gives Cone the confidence the 6-foot-8 Standhardinger could fit in right away with the Kings after being acquired in a one-on-one trade with NorthPort for fellow big man Greg Slaughter.
The Ginebra mentor describes Tenorio, Devance, and Caguioa as great models of the team's culture.
"They accepted that culture and modeled that culture. They're superstars in their own right, but they still stayed with the culture," said Cone.
By that the Ginebra coach meant the way the Kings do things, the way they treat each other, what's expected of the players in terms of practice habits, dealing with teammates, and what the players can do for their teammates.
"These are certain cultures that we tried to inculcate with the guys. Luckily, we have great models," said Cone.
Stanley Pringle also went through the same process when he came over to the Kings, but managed to quickly adapt himself with the team through the guidance of Tenorio and Co.
"Stanley got the system quickly. He just had to learn to get the ball moving a little bit more than what he's normally been used to and trusting the ball to comeback to him," Cone said of the 34-year-old Pringle who won back-to-back titles with Ginebra in just two-and-a-half conferences with the franchise.
Cone, 63, sees Standhardinger settling down with the team the way Pringle did earlier.
"I think they'll get the system quickly especially Chris," he said. "Christian has got to probably learn to kind of initiate our offense and be a little bit more patient than he normally is.
"The key will really be our culture, how he (Standhardinger) fits in to our culture. That's really paramount to us."