Greg Slaughter

BOCAUE, Bulacan — Barangay Ginebra head coach Tim Cone said Greg Slaughter is the big difference for the team in the Philippine Cup.

On Christmas Day—and in the Gin Kings’ first game of the new PBA season—the big man showed why.

En route an 89-78 victory over “Manila Clasico” rivals Magnolia, Slaughter finished the game with 24 points, 13 rebounds, four blocks and a pair of dimes in his first all-Filipino conference game in nearly two years.

But ever the soft-spoken giant that he is, Slaughter would downplay his big night, credit his teammates, and note that there’s still a lot to improve on the Gin Kings’ performance.

"I wouldn’t say there’s an individual equalizer. We’re more team-oriented, even when we won the championships, we pride ourselves on getting high assists,” he said. "That’s our calling card, sharing the ball, moving the ball and playing team defense.”

"The most important is we got the win today. It’s only our first game and the goal for us is to win the championship. It’s good to get that first win but we still got a lot of room to improve,” he added.

The Cebuano behemoth, though, is also aware of the big role that’s falling into his plate—especially with beloved do-it-all import Justin Brownlee not around.

"I understand that I have a big responsibility now. With one conference behind me after my injury I feel like I’m back feeling comfortable with everything,” Slaughter offered. "Last conference, we won the championship with Justin. That’s great but now that we’re without him, we’ve got to step up.

"I’m ready to take on that role,” he added.

Slaughter will get to know if he can sustain embracing the big role on plugging the middle when Ginebra continues their revenge tour of the Philippine Cup on Jan. 7 next year. They face GlobalPort next.