ALTHOUGH the return of fan-favorite Justin Brownlee remains an option for now, spectators will see Greg Slaughter imposing his 7-foot frame when Barangay Ginebra San Miguel tackles Blackwater today at the Alonte Sports Arena in Biñan, Laguna.
Out for more than two months after suffering an ankle injury in February, Slaughter may be the man the Gin Kings needed as the team is still struggling to win in two outings in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup.
Head Coach Tim Cone has been hearing calls for import change as their current reinforcement, Charles Garcia, couldn’t tow them to victory.
In their recent game against TNT where they lost, 92-96, Garcia scored 15 points on a 3-of-11 shooting from the field.
Cone brushed off the idea of sending Garcia home to Los Angeles and has kept his trust to the 6-foot-10 American—at least for now.
Game time against the Elite (0-4) is set at 7 p.m. and the result might spark more clamor from fans on the Garcia issue.
Still, Barangay Ginebra is pinning its hopes on the comebacking Slaughter. But Cone addressed that the big man will play on limited minutes.
“He’ll be in minute restrictions. We won’t play him full minutes,” Cone said.
Against the KaTropa, Japeth Aguilar and Joe Devance each had 19 points, while LA Tenorio added 13. But the crowd favorites failed to stop the surge of TNT players, especially in the final minutes.
Blackwater, meanwhile, suffered a 106-117 beating from GlobalPort for its fourth straight loss. Import Jarrid Famous had 41 points and 22 rebounds, but his efforts could not push the team to victory.