Alfrancis, Greg set to talk things out

San Miguel Corporation sports director Alfrancis Chua said he is open to meeting estranged Barangay Ginebra center Greg Slaughter.

Chua, who also serves as the Gin Kings’ team governor in the PBA, said he is willing to hear out what Slaughter has to say about his controversial move last February, where after helping the crowd darlings win the Governors’ Cup title, he decided to take a sabbatical.

“As I’ve said before, he’s no longer a child. He has his reasons why he made that decision,” Chua said in Filipino on an episode of The Chasedown on Saturday afternoon. “I just told everyone to respect his decision.”

“Now, he’s asking for forgiveness. I said there’s no bad blood. Again, he’s been in America for months, then he got married. Maybe he realized that he wants to play again and return to Ginebra,” he added.

Chua’s remarks come on the heels of Slaughter’s apology made earlier this week.

“My only regret is that the communication between myself and management, particularly Boss (Ramon Ang) and coach Alfrancis Chua, did not go as smoothly as I would have wanted,” Slaughter wrote in an Instagram post.

Asked if Slaughter was still welcome to the Ginebra fold, Chua did not really give anything definitive. Instead, he poked fun at the question, saying “The only ‘Welcome’ I know is in España (in Manila).”

He did, however, pointed out how Slaughter was missed by the Gin Kings.

“Coach Tim (Cone) said he wished Greg was with the team,” Chua said.

“Ginebra labored for the championship, considering the conditions of LA (Tenorio) and Japeth (Aguilar). Then we didn’t have Greg, too,” he said.

Cone was indeed very vocal about how he wanted Slaughter back. In fact, he told the Inquirer shortly after winning the 2020 Philippine Cup that one of his primary targets in the off-season is to regain the 7-foot center for the league’s 46th season.

Interestingly, Chua used a familiar line—one he used when he was first interviewed by reporters early into the Slaughter saga last year.

“We won a championship without him and with him. This very team has experienced both,” he said.

“But we’re going to hear him out. If we can understand where he’s coming from, then we’ll do that. Perhaps he has gone through tough times during the pandemic as well,” he added.

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