SLAUGHTER EXCITED TO PLAY WITH MANUEL, TERRENCE AT VALIENTES

GREG Slaughter is ecstatic just to be back on the playing court and suiting up for the Zamboanga Valientes in the coming Dubai International Basketball Championship.

The 7-foot Slaughter said he looks forward to the stint especially being reunited with former Gilas Pilipinas teammate Vic Manuel, while playing for the first time with the likes of Terrence Romeo, Barkley Ebona, Nick Demusis, college standout Forthsky Padrigao, and yes, former NBA No. 1 draft pick Anthony Bennett.

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"It’s been fun, me personally. It’s been over a year since like in a team and again be with the guys and had a lot of camaraderie," said Slaughter after Zamboanga’s practice at the Active Play gym in Taguig on Tuesday.

"Seeing the No. 1 NBA draft pick and playing with him, playing with a lot of locals, Zamboanga talents who are really good players," added the 37-year-old Slaughter, himself a top overall pick of Barangay Ginebra in the 2013 PBA draft.

Slaughter said he continues to build up his strength and stamina, and hopefully get back to his old playing shape by the time the tournament kicks off this weekend at the Rashid bin Hamdam Hall in Dubai.

"Feeling a lot better, building on a lot of things, but you know, it’s different playing in a game compared to a practice or individual skills [training]," he stressed. "So we’ll see how that first game goes, get out there, see how it feels, and build up from that."

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In practices the past few days, Slaughter gets a feel of how it plays alongside Romeo, the No. 5 overall pick of the same rookie batch with him, while getting to rekindle his kinship with the 38-year-old Manuel.

"It’s actually my first time playing with Terrence. I played against him since college, but this will be actually the first time that we’ll be playing together," said the big man out of Ateneo.

"Vic, we’ve played together and he’s been my partner since the 2019 SEA Games," said Slaughter, who won the men’s basketball gold alongside Manuel with Gilas under coach Tim Cone during the SEA Games in Manila.

"We were always like playing together. I have a fun time playing with Vic."

Will the Zamboanga stint open the door anew for a possible PBA return for Slaughter?

"I haven’t heard anything," he said.

Slaughter’s signing rights still belongs to Titan Ultra following its purchase of the Northport franchise. He said Titan Ultra management initially talked to him during the Philippine Cup, but he haven’t heard from them since then.

"I don’t know. Hopefully, it works. I hope so," he said about his PBA future.

2026-01-20T14:15:04Z