Slaughter shines with playing time as teams break rookies in slowly

Going into the 2013 PBA Draft, scouts described this class of rookies as one of the deepest in years. However, despite the high praise, a majority of the freshmen class got the short-end of the minutes stick in the first games of their squads, with just a few exceptions.

Number one overall pick Greg Slaughter started at center when Barangay Ginebra battled San Mig Coffee last Sunday. He tallied 10 points, 13 rebounds, an assist and two blocks in 36 minutes, and became the only rookie to play more than 30 minutes in their debut.

Four other players saw at least 20 minutes of action, including two from the aforementioned Mixers. Second overall pick Ian Sangalang played 23 minutes in a back-up role, compiling eight points, four boards and two assists. Teammate Justin Melton, the 13th overall choice, actually got more burn, putting up a diverse statline of five points, two rebounds, four assists, two steals, a block and a turnover.

Another rookie who played 26 minutes was Terrence Romeo, the fifth pick by the GlobalPort Batang Pier, Wednesday. Coming off the bench, Romeo gave his team some much-needed offense, finishing with 13 markers, though he needed 15 field goal attempts to get there.

Finally, there was Eliud Poligrates, who got to strut his stuff in front of his native Cebu crowd in a Talk ’N Text win last Sunday. Poligrates had 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, along with a rebound and an assist to give his team a huge spark.

One reason why coaches opted to go with their veterans is the short amount of time between the draft and the start of the Philippine Cup, a necessary evil in order to get the league’s calendar back to normal, after the long layover brought about by the 2013 FIBA Asia tournament. It's difficult enough to make the transition from the amateurs to the pros, but try doing it on an even tighter schedule.

Another possible reason is the sheer amount of quality players available to PBA teams, a notion that brings back the hope of the league expanding its number of franchises, in order to accommodate all the rotation-caliber players out there.

Still, it’s early in the season, and it’s just a matter of time before more of these young guns get to show their worth in the league. - GMA News


Check out how the other rookies did in the list below: