Slaughter ready for Ginebra return

But Cone says Greg could either be ‘disruption’ or ‘added weapon’

After watching an

intense Manila Clasico showdown between his team and rival Star, Barangay Ginebra star center Greg Slaughter is

raring for the opportunity to get back on the floor.

The 7-foot-tall center has been out of action for about three months due to bone spurs in his ankle, but he feels he’s nearing complete recovery as does Ginebra coach Tim Cone, who said the center will be fielded in their next game against Mahindra.

“I can’t wait to be back out there,” Slaughter told a small group of sportswriters. “I’m just really excited to get back out there, but it’s Coach Tim’s decision for the next game so we’ll see how it goes on practice when I go full contact with the team. I feel ready.”

Slaughter said that his body isn’t quite in game shape yet but has been progressing well.

“It gets a little sore when I run on it. But I think it’s just me adjusting to the movement. It’s been awhile since I’ve been able to run like that. I think it’s a little weak now, but I think it will become strong soon,” added Slaughter.

He will begin to join full practice sessions this week after holding out off live drills since he began participating in his team’s workouts a few days ago.

“I joined last week, but I didn’t join any contact. I’m trying to pick up our new offense and everything. We’ll see how it is on defense out there,” Slaughter said.

Barangay Ginebra import Justin Brownlee is confident the big man’s return will be an equally large boost to their playoff campaign.

“I haven’t seen Greg play live. In practice, he’s been running 5-on-0, getting back in shape and he’s been out three months now. He’s seven feet tall, so he’s going to help us a lot, especially with Coach Tim running our offense. It’s gonna be great for our team,” said Brownlee.

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel just notched a quarterfinals seat and that means that Kings can afford to look ahead to the playoffs.

For Ginebra, that means attempting to integrate 7-foot-tall center Greg Slaughter, who is returning from injury, in time for the team’s postseason campaign.

“He’s gonna start practice fully this week. We’re expecting him to play some minutes against Mahindra,” Cone told sportswriters right after his team’s latest triumph against Star.

Slaughter will likely have ample time to recuperate from the bone spurs in his ankle as Ginebra is not scheduled to play in the next 12 days.

But even when their next game rolls along, Slaughter will not be pushed to play too many minutes right away, allowing him some time to find his rhythm on the floor.

“He’ll be coming off the bench and play limited minutes as we’re gonna bring him back slowly. We’re not gonna give him 35-40 minutes,” Cone said.

“Obviously, we’re playing pretty good basketball. But I think there’s a choice here with Greg. He could either be a disruption because we’re playing good basketball or he could be a bona fide added weapon that could take us to the next level. That’s really up for us coaching staff, to make that happen.”

Though Slaughter has been idle for about three months, Cone likes the progress the big man has shown, health-wise. He expects Slaughter’s return to be a positive even though the Kings have played well without him, sitting in a tie for second place at 6-2.

“We’re gonna bring him slowly so he could get a rhythm. But we think that with the things we’re doing, he’s gonna be highly successful. So we’re excited about his return,” the Ginebra coach said.

“But again, it’s gonna be a slow process. We’re gonna cap his minutes in the first game, maybe 12 to 15 minutes max, then second game maybe 18 to 20, then slowly working up until he gets his normal minutes.”—

InterAksyon.com