Greg Slaughter as Rookie of the Year AND Mythical Team selection?

At 7’1 and 258 pounds, Greg Slaughter is certainly one of the most imposing players in the PBA. His size alone commands attention, but so does his game. Despite some people casting doubt on whether he can translate his success in the amateur ranks to the pros, the former Ateneo big man has blossomed into one of the game’s brightest young stars.

And, by the way, he’s also (unofficially) the runaway Rookie of the Year.

Greg Slaughter stands tall among the other locals in the PBA.
(image by Paolo Papa/Sports 5)

I mean, there shouldn’t even be a discussion, right?

Sure, Ian Sangalang of San Mig Coffee has two conference titles under his belt, but, come on, if we gauge all rookies based on stats and overall impact on a team, which is not measured just by wins or titles, then Slaughter should still win this race by a mile and a half.

Let’s look at the numbers of the top five rookies (based on their Player Efficiency Rating for the entire 2013-2014 season) so far:

Name	GP	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	EFF
Greg SLAUGHTER	40	14.7	9.9	1.6	0.2	1.5	53.7	37.7
Terrence ROMEO	29	12.8	3.1	2.2	0.6	0.1	34.2	25.4
Raymond ALMAZAN	48	5.9	5.7	0.6	0.3	1.0	54.5	23.0
Ian SANGALANG	58	7.6	4.6	0.6	0.2	0.4	48.5	22.3
Jeric FORTUNA	21	6.4	2.4	2.1	0.3	0.0	36.2	18.0

Again, Slaughter is the runaway winner here.

Hands down.

But I have another question to post here:

Is this season’s top rookie good enough to be among this season’s best players?

Before you give a knee-jerk affirmative response to that, take a look at the TOP 15 PBA players this season based on their stats and EFF rating:

Name	GP	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	EFF
June Mar FAJARDO	35	16.7	14.3	1.4	0.5	2.2	54.8	43.5
Asi TAULAVA	38	14.8	12.6	2.0	0.5	0.7	46.6	38.2
Greg SLAUGHTER	40	14.7	9.9	1.6	0.2	1.5	53.7	37.7
Arwind SANTOS	40	15.1	8.6	1.8	1.0	1.1	43.6	35.0
Japeth AGUILAR	40	13.6	7.7	1.1	0.4	2.2	50.3	34.3
Jayson CASTRO	41	17.0	3.9	4.3	0.9	0.2	40.4	33.9
Jay WASHINGTON	27	15.4	7.6	1.9	1.1	0.6	43.1	33.8
Ranidel DE OCAMPO	38	15.2	5.9	1.4	0.6	0.8	42.5	32.2
Alex CABAGNOT	33	13.2	4.3	6.0	1.2	0.2	38.1	31.5
Marc PINGRIS	55	9.8	7.6	2.9	0.7	0.8	50.4	30.8
Sonny THOSS	36	11.0	7.7	2.5	0.4	0.9	46.8	30.4
Gary DAVID	35	16.0	4.6	1.8	0.4	0.1	40.9	29.7
Gabby ESPINAS	36	10.4	6.9	1.3	0.3	0.2	54.8	29.0
Cliff HODGE	29	10.6	7.1	1.3	0.9	0.9	40.2	28.8
LA TENORIO	40	11.4	4.2	5.7	1.3	0.1	37.6	28.5

Of that top fifteen, we have the following categorized by position:

Center: June Mar, Asi, Greg, and Sonny

Power Forward: Arwind, Japeth, J-Wash, RDO, Ping, Espinas, and Hodge

Small Forward: NOBODY

Shooting Guard: Gary David

Point Guard: Castro, Cabaggie, and LA

What can be gleaned from this?

Simple: The PBA is dominated by big men, which is a bit of a surprised when one considers that Philippine basketball prides itself in being a great breeding ground for star guards and wingmen.

Okay, now for the hard part. Let’s see if we can create TWO Mythical Teams from this set of top fifteen. Consider the following criteria:

-       A Mythical Team needs to be consisted of 1 center, 2 forwards, and 2 guards.

-       In 2013, Ranidel De Ocampo, all 6’5 of him, was considered the Mythical First Team Center. Yes. This means we can be VERY FLEXIBLE with how we view these guys.

Based purely on this top fifteen, my Mythical Teams are the following:

First Team:

C – June Mar Fajardo

F – Asi Taulava (Hey, if RDO can be center, Asi can be PF, okay?)

F – Arwind Santos

G – Jayson Castro

G – Alex Cabagnot

Second Team:

C – Greg Slaughter

F – Jay Washington

F – Japeth Aguilar

G – Gary David

G – LA Tenorio

By all intents and purposes, these are both strong quintets, BUT the problem is there is no single San Mig Super Coffee Mixer in either team. Not Marc Pingris (I don’t have qualms about replacing Japeth with Ping, though). Not PJ Simon (for the record, he’s #16 in the EFF rankings). Not James Yap (#34). Not Mark Barroca (#18). This despite the fact SMC has won 2 of three conferences this season and the last three overall.

If I were to vote, though, I’d replace both J-Wash and Japeth with Ping and RDO. I’d maybe elevate Gary David to the First Team, replacing Cabagnot, and then place Simon in the Second Team to take Gary’s former spot. In the end, the Mythical Selections would look this way:

First Team:

C – June Mar Fajardo

F – Asi Taulava

F – Arwind Santos

G – Jayson Castro

G – Gary David

Second Team:

C – Greg Slaughter

F – Marc Pingris

F – Ranidel De Ocampo

G – PJ Simon

G – LA Tenorio

More palatable now, eh?

And, to go back to our question, yes, Greg Slaughter, the unofficial Rookie of the Year, should be good enough to be part of either Mythical Team.

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