MANILA, Philippines — With his sterling PBA finals debut Friday night, Ginebra behemoth Greg Slaughter may have put the lock on the Best Player of the Conference award to be handed out before Game Two of the Ginebra-Meralco title rematch tonight at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Ahead in the stats race in a virtual one-on-one fight with Meralco’s Chris Newsome, Slaughter firmed up his bid on his towering performance in the series opener he marked with 14 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.
Newsome, on the other hand, was good for only six points on a woeful 3-of-10 clip. He grabbed three rebounds and added a block but committed four turnovers.
June Mar Fajardo (38.45) and Jayson Castro (33.56) actually finished first and second in the stats race, with Slaughter (32.62) coming in just at third.
But with Fajardo and Castro failing to get their teams to the finals, Slaughter is tipped to emerge on top in the balloting.
And his splendid Game One game could well be the clincher.
“I didn’t feel too much pressure. We played a good team game, played good team defense. Everyone chipped in and did their part,” said Slaughter on his winning PBA Final debut.
He missed the previous Ginebra-Meralco title showdown and their ensuing championship tussle with San Miguel Beer in the Philippine Cup due to an injury.
He’s making the most out of it on his comeback.