GREG Slaughter kept his poise and confidence even after missing a number of shots from point-blank range in Barangay Ginebra’s overtime win over San Miguel Beer on Sunday night in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
A strained calf he suffered in the second half prevented the 7-foot Slaughter from getting much lift inside while battling fellow giants June Mar Fajardo and Christian Standhardinger as well as hulking import Charles Rhodes.
But Slaughter isn’t using that as an excuse and instead found another way to help the Kings get the victory, 110-107, before a huge Father’s Day crowd at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“I just kind of keep going at it. I felt like I strained my calf a little bit out there. But I just have to keep pushing through and win it in overtime,” said the Ginebra big man.
Slaughter finished with 13 points and 18 rebounds, but struggled from the field by going 4-of-18. In one sequence, he missed four straight baskets underneath, including what appeared to be a ‘gimme’ against Rhodes.
“Missed as many as I was, I got to contribute somehow, so I just have to battle with June Mar, Christian, and their imports for rebounds,” said Slaughter, whose 39 minutes of play was his longest stint so far this conference.
Despite Slaughter's struggle on offense, Ginebra coach Tim Cone had nothing but praise for his seven-footer on his effort down low.
“Greg was great all night, defensively. He was just on-point defensively. He battled inside, got a bunch of offensive rebounds. He wasn’t finishing all of his shots, but that’s what you want to see. Those shots will finish on their own,” he said.
“It’s that great effort, second, third, and fourth effort that you love to see from Greg and Japeth (Aguilar). And I thought we got that tonight.”
Slaughter said his calf felt tight following the 53-minute game and he will have it checked by doctors on Monday.
All of the pain was worth it however, especially after clinching the morale-boosting win that broke the Kings’ two-game skid to improve to 3-3 overall.
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