Slaughter, Fajardo a huge help down low for Smart Gilas Pilipinas team

Cebu will be ably represented in the Gilas Pilipinas squad that will represent the country in the upcoming FIBA Asia Men’s Championship, thanks to the twin tower combination of the Petron center and this year’s top draft pick June Mar Fajardo and former Ateneo and University of the Visayas 7-footer Greg Slaughter.

The two centers became the latest Cebuanos to make it to the national squad after Gilas head coach, Chot Reyes announced his 17-man pool last Thursday.

Also on the squad are two more players with Cebuano lineage in Talk N Text’s Kelly Williams and Alaska’s Sonny Thoss.

Slaughter has already had previous stints with Gilas while Fajardo is making the squad for the very first time.

The top two pivots’ inclusion in the national squad is getting much hoopla down south owing to their stints in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) a few years back.

Slaughter, before donning the blue and white of Ateneo, once represented the UV Green Lancers and won three titles for them.

Fajardo, on the other hand, played for the University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters and won two crowns for that team before moving on the San Miguel Beermen in the ABL and eventually to Petron in the PBA.

UV team manager and the school’s assistant vice president for finance and administration, recalled great memories of the amiable 7-footer during his time with the Lancers and said that the school is behind him all the way in this new endeavor.

“Greg (Slaughter) is very close to us. And even though he was an Eagle, he will always be a Lancer in our hearts. As for representing the country with the Gilas, he will always have our full support,” said Gullas in a statement.

According to UC’s own team manager, Atty. Baldomero Estenzo, one of the men that helped shape the career of the once gangly and uncoordinated Fajardo, the Pinamungahan-native was courted by the Gilas during the time of then-head coach Rajko Toroman.

However, he, along with management, felt that Fajardo was just not at that level yet, and was also apprehensive that the young man would not be able to tend to his studies once he was in Manila.

But now, with Fajardo coming into his own, Estenzo felt that the time is just right for the 6-foot-10 center to pit his skills against Asia’s best.

“The time is just right. He (Fajardo) is ripe now and I’m very happy that he was picked. He will learn from this experience and become a much-better basketball player.”