By JONAS TERRADO
If Greg Slaughter felt a case of stage fright in his first PBA Finals game Friday night in Lucena City, he did a great job of acting as if there was none.
It helped that the 7-foot center’s confidence soared high after making an immediate impact the first time Coach Tim Cone inserted him in the series opener of the Governors’ Cup championship series, paving the way for Ginebra’s 102-87 victory over Meralco at the Quezon Convention Center.
“I didn’t feel too much pressure,” said Slaughter, whose presence is expected to play a major role in determining the outcome of the best-of-seven finals.
Ginebra, seeking a 2-0 lead over Meralco last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, would be elated if Slaughter maintains the same form.
It didn’t take long for the man known as “Gregzilla” to make his presence felt after replacing Japeth Aguilar with three minutes left in the first quarter and the Kings holding an 18-14 lead.
Slaughter grabbed key rebounds, forced missed shots, create spaces for cutting teammates while scoring four points, including a quarter-ending basket to give Ginebra a 29-18 advantage.
“He definitely makes our offense a lot easier,” said import Justin Brownlee, who fired a game-high 32 points. “He gets under the bottom and around the rim and it’s very difficult to stop there. He had a great game.”
Brownlee is just as hopeful.
“We kept looking for him to stay on his rhythm. He is doing a great job and we hope that continues along the series,” he said.
Slaughter also made a game-turning basket late in the third after Meralco, which trailed by a high of 17 in the first half, pulled within four, 75-71, on a four-point play by Mike Tolomia with six seconds left.
After Tolomia converted his bonus free throw, Slaughter had the presence of mind to sprint back while the Meralco defense was apparently celebrating the rare feat. In a rush, Sol Mercado found Slaughter for the two-handed dunk before the buzzer, negating the impact of Tolomia’s 4-point play.
Slaughter’s basket also provided the momentum in a 9-0 run that Ginebra carried in the fourth to take Game 1 going away.
“We played a good team game, played good team defense. Everyone chipped in and did their part,” said Slaughter, who got help from Joe Devance, LA Tenorio, Mercado and rookie Kevin Ferrer.
Now is Meralco’s second chance to do something about Slaughter.
