Slaughter excited for impending return

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Wearing the iconic Ginebra red-and-whites for the first time in nine months, Greg Slaughter it felt great to be back on the court again on Tuesday.

“Just to be on court with my teammates, be back on the bench, that was really an exciting time. I can’t wait to play again,” he said.

The Cebuano giant joined the team but remained on the sidelines when the Gin Kings topped GlobalPort, 96-85, in their quarterfinal tiff to punch their ticket to the 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals.

Sitting with his teammates as he makes a full recovery from a right ACL injury, Slaughter admits that he felt rejuvenated as he felt one with the team anew, making him more excited for his still unannounced comeback.

“We’ll leave that as a surprise,” he said, keeping the timetable of his return to himself.

Adding to Slaughter’s excitement is Japeth Aguilar’s emergence as a better frontcourt player for Ginebra, with the athletic forward keeping the paint afloat with his averages of 18.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per outing.

“I can’t wait to get back there and help him out, get back to our synergy where we’re helping each other out. Just two really dominant bigs out there together,” he said.

But the 6-foot-11 center said that wasn’t just Aguilar who has improved, noting that once he returns, he’ll be better than ever as he sees himself fitting seamlessly with the rest of the Gin Kings.

“I feel pretty ready now. I feel very confident that I can fit in our system. I was able to practice even before I got injured with Justin (Brownlee) on the team, and that’s when we’re just starting it off. Now, I’m very confident on my return and I’m just excited to get back there with the guys. We’ll see what happens.”