Brgy. Ginebra starts life without Greg Slaughter

Brgy. Ginebra held its first practice for the year, Wednesday at the Upper Deck Sports Center in Pasig City and not surprisingly missing was Greg Slaughter who opted to take a leave after failing to come to terms with his team of 6 years.

As for Gin Kings’ chief playmaker LA Tenorio, the team is ready to move on from the loss of one integral piece of their system.

“Kung ano man ang meron kami rito, yun ang gagawin namin sa All-Filipino. It’s better for the other players to step up. It’s time for them to step up and magpakilala dito sa team. Katulad nina Prince, Raymond Aguilar, meron na silang opportunity,” said Tenorio.

The 13-year PBA veteran bared that the team already knows how to compete without Slaughter since they were able to overcome a similar situation when the 7-footer was sidelined for a considerable amount of time due to an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury a few seasons back.

“Hindi namin pwedeng problemahin yun the whole conference. It’s just like noong nawala siya, noong na-ACL siya. Ganoon rin yun eh. We have to move on,” added the 35-year old Batangeño.

Slaughter came down with a partial ACL tear on his right knee during his comeback game after missing a big chunk of the 2016 Governors’ Cup due to an ankle injury. He was ruled out for the rest of the conference while the Gin Kings soldiered on bagged the championship via 4-2 series win over Meralco in the Finals.

“We won a championship without Greg, we’re okay. I don’t think it’s a big problem. However, he’s still a huge loss, but we just have to find ways to win,” added the 5-time PBA champion.