BPC plum ‘validation’ of hard work, says Slaughter

Coming off a devastating ACL injury that sidelined him for the better half of last year, all Greg Slaughter wanted was to return to form and help Ginebra get back to title contention.

Little did he know that all of his efforts will eventually bear fruit as he came back in the 2017 PBA Governors’ Cup stronger than ever, enough for him to win the Best Player of the Conference in the season-ending tourney.

“It’s indeed a validation for all the hard work I put in,” he told the INQUIRER. “Coming back from the injury I’ve been in, I feel thankful to be in this position again and to receive awards like this is just indescribable. It’s always great to win your first.”

Slaughter was stellar all conference long, leading the Gin Kings to a return trip to the Finals with his averages of 14.69 points, 8.75 rebounds, 1.69 assists, and 1.63 blocks.

Bagging his first BPC trophy also brings back the talks of his rivalry with five-time BPC winner and three-time PBA Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo to life.

But for the 6-foot-11 slotman, he’s just glad to see Cebuanos like the two of them making their mark in the league as he looks forward to facing off anew with the San Miguel center.

“I know June Mar has five (BPC awards) now, but we’re still young in our careers. We got long ways to go in terms of our stay in the league and I think we can still win more of this in the years to come. But I know between the two of us, I got a lot of catching up to do.” he said.

Still, Slaughter isn’t losing sight of his ultimate goal, which is to help Ginebra defend its title.

“Of course, the goal will always be a championship and I’m motivated to help us win back-to-back,” he said.