 |
| Greg Slaughter looks to return to the PBA next season. Dennis Acosta (file photo) |
MANILA--Greg Slaughter is ready to move on from his shock preseason move to leave Ginebra for a while to work on his game.
The seven-foot center is looking forward to returning to the Barangay for the 2021 season slated to open by April the soonest depending on the current situation amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement on Tuesday, Slaughter even apologized to the San Miguel Corporation's higher ups, company president Ramon Ang and sports director Alfrancis Chua, also Ginebra's governor in the PBA board, for the lack of proper communication about his decision.
"My only regret is that the communication between myself and [the] management, particularly Boss RSA and Coach Alfrancis Chua, did not go as smoothly as I would have wanted. I want to apologize to them and the rest of [the] management for any misunderstanding or bad feelings that may have occurred because of my decision," Slaughter said in the statement posted in his Twitter account.
In a stunning development on Feb. 8, just a few weeks after clinching the 2019-2020 Governors' Cup title, the first overall pick of the 2013 draft announced that he is taking a break from the game.
The decision came after his contract with Ginebra expired and amid rumors circulating then that he was on the trading block.
[Related Story: Greg Slaughter 'to take a break' as Ginebra contract expires]
Nearly three weeks later, Chua bared that neither he nor Slaughter reached out to the other about the latter's future plans.
[Related Story: Alfrancis Chua denies trade rumors leading to Greg Slaughter hiatus]
Slaughter's apology came 10 months after Chua's statements.
Slaughter then further clarified some matters about the said hiatus.
"My intention was purely to improve myself both as a person and as a basketball player," he added.
The 32-year-old center further said, "Basketball has been my life for close to 30 years, and I needed to step away for a while in order to start enjoying the game again."
Slaughter used the time off to return to the United States for training.
Ginebra coach Tim Cone even bared last July that Slaughter was rumored to do a tryout with an NBA G-League team.
[Related Story: Tim Cone says Greg Slaughter may try out for G-League]
But Slaughter now believes he is ready to give the PBA a try again next year.
"I am very excited at the prospect of being able to play again," Slaughter continued.
He added, "My only wish now for the coming year is to leave that in the past and have the opportunity to suit up again for the best fans in the world," hinting that he wants to rejoin the Barangay for next season.
He then vowed, "I am excited to show everyone that the next phase of my career will be the best one yet."
Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno
.jpg)
.JPG)
0 Comments