June Mar Fajardo’s return to the San Miguel Beer active roster depends on how his injury heals. Calvin Abueva suiting up anew for Phoenix awaits a final green light from the PBA Commissioner’s Office.
Stranded in between NLEX and TNT, Poy Erram will suit up for a new squad once a revision of the trade package is completed.
Greg Slaughter? Everything is up to him as far as his basketball career is concerned.
Ginebra team governor and San Miguel Corp. sports director Alfrancis Chua said the Gin Kings will no longer reach out to Slaughter following the big man’s decision to take a sabbatical.
“I think there’s no longer a need for it since he has never reached out to anyone, anyway,” he told reporters in Filipino shortly after the PBA’s press conference for its 45th season on Tuesday at the Conrad Hotel in Pasay.
Chua also insisted that the 7-footer from Ateneo should have let Ginebra know about his contract situation if he really wanted to re-sign with the team, adding that the Gin Kings should not be the ones making the first move.
Slaughter’s contract expired on Jan. 31 and PBA sources have said that Ginebra has already tendered an offer to Slaughter.
“I never talked to him—even higher management. But he and coach Tim [Cone] talked during the [exit] meeting,” said Chua, who also denied rumors that the Filipino-American slot man has been made a trade bait for NorthPort’s Christian Standhardinger. The rumored trade was reportedly at the heart of Slaughter’s planned sabbatical.
“[Who’s] to question him why he did it?” he said. “He’s old. He’s at the right age to make a decision for himself. Let’s just respect it.”
Chua believes the Gin Kings are still capable of competing without Slaughter.
“I think Ginebra’s ready because we won a championship with and without him,” he said, referring to Slaughter’s ACL injury that shelved him in 2016. “We already know what it feels like not having him.”
“Unlike San Miguel. They’ve been winning championships with June Mar [Fajardo],” he added.
Fajardo is expected to be out for at least the entire Philippine Cup, which opens March 8.
“I really want to see how other coaches are going to adjust to a field without June Mar,” Chua said.
Fajardo’s injury has opened up opportunities for teams with legitimate big men, which is why TNT made a deal for NLEX’s Erram via a conduit in Blackwater. The trade is currently on hold pending revisions in the package as ordered by the league.
Abueva, suspended since June, has been working his way back to the league’s good graces, but commissioner Willie Marcial said there are still a few conditions needed to be met for the ban to be lifted.
“We’re still talking and he has yet to fulfill something,” Marcial added.