GREG Slaughter wanted to play for Gilas Pilipinas, but the chance for him to do a swansong for the national team in the coming Southeast Asian Games in December may have already vanished.
Gilas coach Norman Black announced last week that Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser will complete the 12-man Gilas roster that will defend the basketball gold medal in the Dec. 9-20 meet.
During the PBA 50th-anniversary celebration, the 7-foot Slaughter confirmed to SPIN.ph a conversation with Black on the possibility of him playing for the national team saying he's available because he's not under contract with any commercial ballclub.
READ BGR is final piece to Gilas puzzle in SEA Games
The former PBA No. 1 overall pick said he reached out to Black as soon as he found out he was named by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) to handle the Gilas team to the SEA Games.
The 37-year-old big man, however, is not giving himself a big chance, fully aware there are a lot of talented players waiting to be called to play for Gilas.
For Slaughter, it’s a matter of him ‘loving to do it all over again’ after being part of Black’s men’s basketball team that won the gold during the 2011 edition of the SEA Games in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Likewise, Slaughter played for two of the five UAAP championship teams that Black coachec with the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
But with Ganuelas-Rosser taking the remaining spot reserved for a big man, it's obvious the four-time PBA champion and former Best Player of the Conference won’t be with the team in Thailand by December.
The worst part?
Slaughter's call-up wasn't even the coach's decision to make. - Gerry Ramos
PVL team owners fed up with PNVF arm-twisting
The Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) may not know it, but there is now the beginning of a resistance towards what some say is its arrogant handling of its relationship with the Philippine Volleyball League (PVL), the country's most popular volleyball organization and the reason why the sport has become a must-watch event in the country.
A SPIN.ph source said there’s one PVL team that has shown reluctance to lending its players to Alas Pilipinas for the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand this December. In fact, the document obtained by SPIN.ph bearing the expanded player pool had players from this team separated from the rest of the names.
This team has opted to stay mum on giving any further reason for being on the fence when it comes to player-lending for the biennial meet.
But the thing is, they aren’t alone on that boat.
The league’s general frustration on the combative behavior of the PNVF has spewed over the teams themselves.
From the import fiasco at the start of the Reinforced Conference to undercutting the PVL in tapping players for Alas’ SEA Games pool, such strong-arm tactics from the Tats Suzara-led national federation continue to leave a sour taste in the mouth of the league’s stakeholders.
It can also be noted that the SEA Games falling outside the FIVB-mandated national team window means that pro or college teams are not required to let their players go for national team duties.
SPIN.ph also learned that PVL president and concurrent PNVF vice president Ricky Palou will meet with the teams ‘very soon’ to shed more light and bring clarity to the PNVF-inflicted issues. - John Mark Garcia
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