Slaughter not surprised by old foe Fajardo's emergence
One season after his old college foe was drafted number one overall in the 2012 rookie draft, Greg Slaughter will most likely duplicate that feat and re-ignite his aborted rivalry with June Mar Fajardo.
Slaughter, who will most probably be picked first by Barangay Ginebra in the 2013 Rookie Draft scheduled on November 3, and Fajardo, selected first overall by Petron Blaze in last year’s draft, are no strangers to each other.
The two faced off for a couple of years in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI), Fajado manning the slot for the University of Cebu and Slaughter doing the same for the University of the Visayas.
In 2009, Slaughter led the Green Lancers to their ninth straight CESAFI crown, beating Fajardo’s UC Webmasters, 3-1, in their best-of-five championship series. Fittingly, both big men were named co-MVPs of the league.
The following year, Slaughter transferred to Ateneo and helped the Blue Eagles win two more titles in 2011 and 2012. Fajardo, meanwhile, went on to win two more MVP trophies for UC before joining the San Miguel Beermen in the ASEAN Basketball League, where he honed his skills in preparation for his joining the PBA.
Fajardo got off to a slow start with Petron due to a groin injury that sidelined him early on, but suddenly came alive in the just-concluded Governors’ Cup, where the Blaze Boosters finished second.
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Seeing his old rival suddenly turn into the league’s dominant big man hardly surprised Slaughter.
“No, I’m not surprised at all that he (Fajardo) made that big leap,” Slaughter said moments after the PBA Rookie Camp ended. “I played with him in Cebu so I’ve seen what he’s got. I’m not surprised that he’s dominating now. He’s a big person. It doesn’t come as a surprise that he’s doing well because I know he’s a hard worker.”
Asked if he and Fajardo are the centers of the future for the PBA, Slaughter demurred.
“I think that’s more for the people to decide,” he said. “The only thing that we can do is just continue working and playing our game, and let the people decide that.”
Although it’s practically a given that the Kings will draft the seven-foot Slaughter on Sunday, the big guy isn’t about to say it’s a done deal.
“Everyone’s saying Ginebra but I’m still not convinced that I’m gonna be there until I’m called on November 3rd. If it so happens that I am with Ginebra, we’ll have a pretty tall team with Japeth and now JayR in there. I’ll be excited to get in there and see how things work.”
Newly-crowned Governors’ Cup champion San Mig Coffee is drafting second, and if for some reason Ginebra changes its mind, Slaughter doesn’t mind playing alongside Marc Pingris. James Yap and the rest of the Coffee Mixers.
“Well, San Mig just won a championship, so you really can’t complain about that team either. We’ll just see what happens on November 3rd.”
