Quits

Christian Standhardinger suddenly hung up his jersey from the country’s premiere basketball league. Or from the sport altogether. At 35, the Filipino-German still has years to play for, including a live contract yet to end by yearend. Although the reason is unclear, it appears he sat out the rest of the Governor’s Cup due to a left knee injury.

It must be a compelling, career-ending twist. But the former Gilas standout is yet to issue a formal public statement, although his scarcity in practice and actual games has spoken the loudest.

Indeed, there are many ways to retire from sports. A few in style, others never bade goodbye, including sports greats. Andre Agassi lost his last match and retired in tears, not because he lost but because he found love from tennis fans and with another tennis great. Pete Sampras won his 14th and final grand slam, disappeared from court and announced off-court his retirement undefeated.

Experts and fans thought the 14 slams was untouchable, until the trivalry surpassed the number like their warm-up. Roger Federer retired with 20 by writing his farewell and wrote another one for Rafael Nadal who retired with 22.

Pistol Pete left a squeaky clean record, like Floyd Mayweather Jr. who withered all his foes, partly because he was circumspect and calculated. He chose his battles well and his enemies better, unlike the fearless Manny Pacquiao who chose to fight anyone, win or lose, at his peak and even now as he goes down and out.

The greatest sprinter of all time retired after winning nine Olympic gold medals. But in his final tournament in the worlds, Usain Bolt lost the century dash and anchored the great Jamaican relay team to disaster. But none of it ruined his legacy, even if one of his nine golds was taken away from him, or his team, after one runner tested positive for a banned substance.

Michael Jordan had to do it twice, but came back greater after he tried baseball and realized he was horrible. The second time it was for good, now he awaits who is as good or better than him – LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Basketball was his, in baseball he was hissed. Even the greatest sucks elsewhere. Only a few can be great in many things, like Jackie Joyner-Kersee, the greatest heptathlete unbeatable in the seven-event track and field discipline, including the long jump and the 100m hurdles where she also exceled independently that at one time she flirted for a rare record within a record.

But injury forced her to retire in the middle of her final heptathlon in Atlanta 1996. With the heptathlon gone, she gunned for the individual long jump and won bronze by an inch for that one final Olympic glory, even if she hurt herself. At least, she didn’t touch herself.