TIM Cone was among the first to welcome the move of big man Greg Slaughter to apologize and open the communication lines again with top management of Barangay Ginebra.
The champion mentor hopes the act of the 7-foot Slaughter to reach out to top brasses of the franchise would lead to a renewed and better relationship with the only PBA team the center has played for.
“I’m happy that he is communicating with management and I’m looking forward to him returning to the team,” said Cone on the first day of year 2021.
Two days before 2000 came to an end, Slaughter posted a long statement on his Instagram account, where he expressed his desire to rejoin the Kings after sitting out the entire season when his contract with Ginebra expired last year.
The 32-year-old Slaughter specifically directed his apology to San Miguel Corp. chief Ramon S. Ang and SMB sports director Alfrancis Chua, who is also Ginebra board of governor, for what he described was a ‘misunderstanding’ that made him decide to go to the US for a year-long sabbatical.
“My only regret is that the communication between myself and management, particularly Boss RSA and Coach @alfrancischua, did not go smoothly as I would have wanted. I want to apologize to them and the rest of management for any misunderstanding or bad feelings that may have occurred because of my decision,” part of Slaughter’s post read.
Despite going on leave, Slaughter kept himself in shape as he stressed the personal break was more on what he termed as 'self-improvement.’
From time to time, he would post videos and photos of his regular training with NBA scout Gary Boyson at the DME Sports Academy in Daytona Beach, Florida, and considered one of the top sports training facilities in the world.
That alone gave Cone the thrill of seeing the improvement in Slaughter’s game.
“I know he has worked hard on his game during the pandemic and I’m excited to see the changes,” said the Ginebra mentor.
Slaughter returned to the country last October and just recently, married his fiancée Schinana Juban.
Then again, he wasn’t included in the Kings' team that went inside the Clark bubble and won the Philippine Cup championship at the expense of TnT Tropang Giga.
Despite the team’s success, Cone still has high hopes the Kings would be able to get Slaughter back in their lineup.
“I would love to have Greg back on the team. That would be huge for us, and that would help Japeth out in terms of giving him a break and we could be a little bit more creative in the way we play,” he said.
“We get Greg back and move forward to the all-Filipino,” Cone added. “I think that we can still compete for championships if we stay intact and get Greg back in the lineup.”
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