Greg Slaughter

Greg Slaughter

Slaughter with Barangay Ginebra in 2014
No. 20–Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka
Position	Center
League	B2 League
Personal information
Born	(1988-05-19) May 19, 1988 (age 35) Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Nationality	Filipino / American
Listed height	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight	258 lb (117 kg)
Career information
High school	Massaponax (Fredericksburg, Virginia)
College	University of the Visayas (2007–2009) Ateneo de Manila University (2011–2012)
PBA draft	2013: 1st round, 1st overall
Selected by the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel
Playing career	2013–present
Career history
2013–2020	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel
2021	NorthPort Batang Pier
2022–present	Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka
Career highlights and awards
4× PBA champion (2016 Governors', 2017 Governors', 2018 Commissioner's, 2019 Governors') PBA Best Player of the Conference (2017 Governors') 5× PBA All-Star (2014–2016, 2018, 2019) PBA Mythical First Team (2015) PBA Mythical Second Team (2014) PBA Rookie of the Year (2014) PBA All-Rookie Team (2014) 2× UAAP champion (2011, 2012) 3× CESAFI champion (2007–2009) 2× CESAFI Most Valuable Player (2008, 2009) 2× UAAP Mythical Team (2011, 2012) 2× PCCL Mythical Team (2011, 2012) Filoil Flying V Preseason Hanes Cup champion (2011) Filoil Flying V Preseason Hanes Cup Flying V Preseason Hanes Cup Mythical Team (2012)
Medals Representing   Philippines Southeast Asia Basketball Association 2011 Jakarta Team Southeast Asian Games 2011 Jakarta Team 2019 Philippines Team

Gregory William Slaughter ^[1] (born May 19, 1988) is a Filipino-American professional basketball player for the Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka of the B2 League. He was selected first overall by the Barangay Ginebra in the 2013 PBA draft. ^[2] Sports commentators and scribes call him GregZilla because of his apparent heft and height. ^[3] Listed at 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) and 245 pounds (111 kg), he plays the center position in B.League, the Japanese professional basketball league ^[4]

Early life

Greg's father is 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m), while his mother is 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m), Both of his parents were health physicists at nuclear power plants. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, ^[5] and grew up in Virginia, finishing at Massaponax High School. In 2007, his family moved to Cebu, the hometown of his mother. He quickly learned Cebuano and was convinced by his maternal uncles to play competitive basketball. ^[6]

College career

He studied and played for the University of the Visayas from 2007 to 2009 and took up Political Science, winning the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) men's basketball title each year in his three-year stint with UV, as well as the league MVP award in 2008 and 2009, the latter of which he shared with June Mar Fajardo of the University of Cebu. He transferred to Ateneo de Manila University in 2010 and became an eligible player in 2011. ^[7] In his two seasons for the Blue Eagles, he averaged 13.1 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 1.8 APG 2.9 BPG and 49.7 FG%, and he placed second in rebounds and blocks. He successfully teamed up with Kiefer Ravena and Nico Salva to lead Ateneo to two UAAP championships and completing a five-peat. ^[8]

PBA D-League

After graduating from Ateneo, he signed with PBA D-League team NLEX Road Warriors to showcase his talent for the upcoming PBA Draft.

Career

PBA draft

Slaughter declared for the 2013 PBA draft. In the prospect camp, he was measured to have height of 6 foot and 11 5/8 inches and a wingspan of 85 inches. He had a vertical reach of 11 feet 6 inches and performed 40 bench presses, the most of all draft applicants. He also did 50 situps, 62 pushups and 18 pullups. After the workout, multiple PBA managers and analysts listed him as the no. 1 prospect. ^[9] Barangay Ginebra San Miguel picked him with the #1 pick in the draft.

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (2013–2020)

Greg Slaughter was paired with Japeth Aguilar to form one of the most formidable frontcourt duos in the PBA and was dubbed the "Twin Towers". In his first game in the PBA, he tallied 10 points (5 of 9 shooting) and 13 rebounds in 36 minutes of play. On February 8, 2020 via Instagram, Slaughter announced that he's taking a break from PBA after his contract with Ginebra already expired.

On February 4, 2021, Ginebra coach Tim Cone confirmed that Slaughter is re-signed with the team after a 1-year hiatus.

NorthPort Batang Pier (2021)

On March 5, 2021, Slaughter was traded to the NorthPort Batang Pier in exchange for Christian Standhardinger. ^[10] He became a restricted free agent on January 31, 2022. ^[11] He was unable to re-sign with NorthPort due to contract disputes. ^[12]

Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka (2022–present)

On July 9, 2022, Slaughter signed with Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka of the B2 League of Japan marking his departure from the PBA. ^[13]

PBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

As of the end of 2021 Season ^[14]

Season-by-season averages

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2013–14	Barangay Ginebra	43	32.9	.532	.000	.641	10.0	1.5	.2	1.4	14.6
2014–15	Barangay Ginebra	32	28.8	.494	—	.705	10.3	1.3	.2	.8	14.8
2015–16	Barangay Ginebra	26	35.3	.545	.000	.708	11.7	2.0	.4	1.3	19.7
2016–17	Barangay Ginebra	23	27.4	.487	—	.659	8.2	1.4	.2	1.9	13.8
2017–18	Barangay Ginebra	38	27.7	.486	.000	.691	8.0	1.9	.3	1.1	13.4
2019	Barangay Ginebra	49	22.8	.508	—	.713	6.4	1.0	.3	.9	9.8
2021	NorthPort	12	35.3	.480	.059	.563	10.8	.7	.3	1.9	16.5
Career		223	29.0	.508	.048	.678	9.0	1.4	.3	1.2	14.0

International career

Slaughter was the starting center for the Sinag Pilipinas team that won the 2011 SEA Games and the 2011 SEABA tournament which was the qualifying tournament for the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship. ^[15] He was also a part of the national team pool in preparation for the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship held in the Philippines but did not make it to the final 12 roster. He was again invited to the pool that will train to compete in both the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain and the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, but he declined. ^[16] He played in the Philippines in the fifth window of the Asia qualifiers for the 2019 FIBA World Cup against Kazakhstan, but he was scoreless and had only one rebound in the game. ^{[17] [18]}

References

1. Padilla, Erika (November 9, 2013). "Dugout Diaries: Getting To Know That Gentle Giant, Greg Slaughter". FHM Philippines . Archived from the original on May 2, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
2. "Slaughter leads 44 hopefuls in PBA draft". Rappler . November 6, 2013. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
3. 'Gregzilla' Slaughter throws weight around as vengeful Ginebra pounds San Mig Archived February 23, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Spin.ph
4. "グレゴリー・スローター". B.LEAGUE（Bリーグ）公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved November 6, 2023.
5. Ballesteros, Jan (July 24, 2018). "Slaughter, Fajardo finally play with championship at stake". ESPN. Archived from the original on December 5, 2018. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
6. "Greg Slaughter - Man of Great Heights". Mico Halili. August 1, 2012. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
7. "After playing pro, Ateneo's Slaughter back in college for his degree". Mav Gonzales, GMA . September 7, 2011. Archived from the original on December 26, 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
8. "The top 10 collegiate basketball players". Robi Raya, Rappler . November 4, 2012. Archived from the original on August 23, 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
9. "Stats confirm Slaughter as No. 1 prospect". Roy Luarca, Philippine Daily Inquirer . October 28, 2013. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
10. "NorthPort trades Standhardinger to Ginebra for Slaughter". PBA.ph. March 5, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
11. "Greg Slaughter's Northport contract expires". Tiebreaker Times. February 2, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
12. "PBA: Greg Slaughter hits back at NorthPort as contract dispute drags on". Inquirer Sports. May 3, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
13. "Greg Slaughter signs with Fukuoka in Japan B.League Division 2". Inquirer Sports. July 9, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
14. Real GM
15. "Sinag Pilipinas Shines". Hoopnut.com. November 24, 2011. Archived from the original on January 16, 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
16. "The curious case of SMC players declining invitations to Gilas Pilipinas". Jaemark Tordecilla, InterAksyon.com. March 10, 2014. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
17. Bacnis, Justine (November 29, 2018). "'Dream come true' as Greg Slaughter, June Mar Fajardo team up for Gilas". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
18. Li, Matthew (December 1, 2018). "Greg Slaughter absent as Gilas resumes practice". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved October 29, 2023.