A few days after negotiations with Mikey Williams bogged down, the Basilan Red Dynasty acquired free agent center Greg Slaughter.
Slaughter, who sources said was also pursued by his hometown MPBL team Cebu Greats, signed with the team that has former PBA stars Arwind Santos, Jervy Cruz and Alex Cabagnot.
Red Dynasty team owner Jackson Chua told SPIN.ph that they pursued Slaughter to help their team hit top form in the regional league, in the hope that the 7-0 slotman can boost their chances of making it to the playoffs.
READ Junthy, Quinahan answer call to restore lost pride for Cebu team
Basilan is currently in the 17th-18th spot of the MPBL standings, sporting 8-8 win-loss record in a tie with the Ilagan Isabela Cowboys.
“We’re just happy that we were able to get him to sign the contract,” said Chua, who revealed that Slaughter was also being pursued by other teams like Cebu and his former ballclub Manila.
The former University of the Visayas star had initial talks with Cebu, but negotiations bogged down at the last minute after the current backer of the Greats withdrew his support for the team.
Under the management that took over, Cebu had problems with its players and even ended up competing with just 6 players.
Cebu's MPBL team has since undergone a major rebuild under the new moniker Greats.
“Buti nakuha namin si Greg bago nagkaroon ng serious negotiations ang Cebu sa bago nitong owner. Yan yung dating kausap ni Greg eh,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chua confirmed that they had opened talks with Williams, who is one of the best scorers in the league but has been a big problem for its former team TNT and its new rights holder Converge FiberXers.
“Sinubukan namin pero sobrang taas ng hinihingi,” Jackson said while trying to dodge questions about the actual asking price the two-time PBA Finals MVP.
“Basta malaki. Wag na nating pag-usapan,” he added in between laughs. “Kaya naman namin, kaso ang questions are is he in shape and won’t there be a problem in the long run?”
For now, Chua is optimistic that with Slaughter, Santos, Cruz and Cabagnot, Basilan can finally move up the .5 mark of the standings.
“We have been struggling pero knowing na veterans ang mga players namin, siguro hindi naman papaya ang mga yun na mapahiya sila. And I am happy kasi they promised to do everything to salvage the team’s pride and their legacies as well,” said Chua, who is still one of the prospective buyers of the Terrafirma Dyip franchise in the PBA.
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