Tim Cone: No tall order to beat SMB

MANILA, Philippines — With the pair of Greg Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar to throw at June Mar Fajardo, coach Tim Cone said they have a legitimate chance at ending San Miguel Beer’s three-year reign as PBA Philippine Cup champ.

In 7-foot-1 Slaughter and 6-foot-9 Aguilar, Cone admits he has a luxury no other coaches enjoy.

“I’m fortunate to have that,” said Cone of his twin behemoths who both made a splendid job to propel the Gin Kings to an 89-78 victory over the Magnolia Hotshots in their Christmas Day setto at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.

“It’s hard to keep up with them because of their length and size,” said Magnolia forward Marc Pingris.

Slaughter powered his way to 24 points, 13 rebounds, four blocks and two assists while Aguilar churned out 12 markers, five boards, two blocks and one assist as the Kings picked up from where they left off last conference, winning the Governors Cup and thus foiling San Miguel’s grand slam aspiration.

Cone was hardly surprised of Slaughter’s dominant performance.

“He was the league’s leading scorer and rebounder before he got injured (in the Philippine Cup last season). This is his conference. He’s the only answer to June Mar Fajardo,” said Cone.

Cone’s edge is having Slaughter and Aguilar watching each other’s back.

Slaughter said he’s ready to step up to help Ginebra win the all-Filipino crown that has been elusive to the team for quite sometime.

“Last conference, we won the championship with Justin (Brownlee), that’s great. But now that we’re without him, we’ve got to step up and I’m ready to take on that role,” he said.

“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,” he also said.