Barangay Ginebra San Miguel — and possibly Gilas Pilipinas too — have gotten worried yet again as center Greg Slaughter sustained an injury in his left ankle on Wednesday night.
The 7-foot slotman left Ginebra’s match with the NorthPort Batang Pier with 5:49 remaining in the fourth after he and Sean Anthony fell to the ground, as the latter attacked his defense.
Slaughter left the game with 18 points and nine rebounds. Though his absence greatly affected the Barangay, the defending champions still managed to get the job done, 104-98.
“We’re worried about that — the way he fell,” admitted Gin Kings head coach Tim Cone. “He’s seven-feet tall. When a guy that tall falls like that the first thing you think is the injury.
“They told me [Greg] could come back into the game, so that’s a good indication that it wasn’t as bad as it might have looked. But I didn’t want him hobbling down last two minutes of the game.”
Slaughter could not afford to sit out due to this recent injury. Should he do so, he would reduce Ginebra’s already-short rotation due to injuries, and he might miss a national team stint yet again.
And that is why the 30-year-old hopes it won’t get worse.
“You know, you cant really tell until, like, the next day with these things,” said the five-year pro out of Ateneo de Manila. “Right now it kinda hurts, but hopefully they’ll feel a lot better tomorrow.”