FILE – Greg Slaughter. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Ginebra head coach Tim Cone sees Greg Slaughter thriving while playing a much bigger role at NorthPort.
The Gin Kings shipped Slaughter to the Batang Pier last month for big man Christian Standhardinger.
“I think Greg is going to step forward at NorthPort. And I think he’s going to get that opportunity where the team is going to be built around him. I think that’s the kind of game that Greg needs,” Cone said on The Chasedown.
“He needs the game to be built around him as opposed to being a complementary player.”
During his stint with Ginebra, Slaughter was mostly a complementary piece given how stacked the Gin Kings are.
The 7-foot Slaughter, though, has also proven he is capable of being the focal point. He certainly had his moments with the Kings especially during the 2017 PBA Governors’ Cup when he was named Best Player of the Conference.
Cone expects to see more of that Slaughter with the five-time All-Star going to be relied on more by the Batang Pier than when he was with the Gin Kings.
“Given the opportunity over there, where he is kind of on his own, not sharing the limelight with Japeth (Aguilar) and Joe Devance, and other players, I think he is really going to come into his own,” said Cone.
The 32-year-old Slaughter helped Ginebra win four PBA championships. He was drafted first overall by the Gin Kings in 2013.