According to Ginebra star LA Tenorio, Asi Taulava and Sonny Thoss are the true yardstick for Greg Slaughter as he looks ahead to his Christmas Day showdown with June Mar Fajardo. Jerome Ascano

LA Tenorio believes even before Barangay Ginebra rookie Greg Slaughter could look forward to his highly-awaited match-up with June Mar Fajardo on Christmas Day, he will have to first pass the test against veterans Asi Taulava of Air21 and Sonny Thoss of Alaska with flying colors.Going up against Taulava and Thoss, according to Tenorio, would toughen up the year’s No. 1 overall pick ahead of his first ever PBA encounter with former Cebu rival Fajardo.

They Said It!

“We expect him to get a double-double every game.” – Barangay Ginebra guard LA Tenorio on No.1 over-all draft pick Greg Slaughter

“I think if malalagpasan niya si Asi and Sonny Thoss, he’ll be ready to face June Mar,” Tenorio told Spin.ph. “Kasi kung titingnan mo si June Mar, naka-12 (points) and 19 (rebounds) pa against Meralco. Grabe yun.”

Slaughter and the Kings will take on Asi and the Express on Wednesday, and then Thoss and the Aces on Saturday. Both these match-ups will show if the former Ateneo center is ready for Fajardo, Tenorio said.

So far, Slaughter is doing pretty well in his first six games as a pro, averaging 13.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks to help Ginebra to a 5-1 (win-loss) record in the PLDT myDSL-PBA Philippine Cup.

The 5-foot-9 Tenorio, who became a father to a bouncing baby boy last Friday, said he has been constantly pushing Slaughter to work hard in practice, especially since his main job for Ginebra is to protect the rim and grab rebounds.

“He has a good outside shooting, but as I always tell him in practice, he needs to work hard and be aggressive, especially in grabbing rebounds. Kaya we expect him to get a double-double every game,” explained Tenorio, who is norming all-around numbers of 11.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 8.5 assists, and 2.1 steals this season.

The 29-year-old Ginebra playmaker said Fajardo’s three-month stint with Gilas Pilipinas has strengthened his post game, which is one of the biggest reasons why the Petron center is averaging career-highs of 14.5 points, 17.4 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per contest.

“Sa Gilas kasi dun siya nag-mature. Siyempre, araw-araw nakakalaban niya si Marcus (Douthit), tapos he also plays against international players kaya nahasa na siya,” he said.

“Puwede na siyang maging MVP contender.”

Slaughter and Fajardo go a long way back, having been rivals in the Cebu Schools Athletics Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) while playing for the University of the Visayas and University of Cebu, respectively.

But the 6-foot-11 Slaughter eventually moved to Ateneo and played in two of the Blue Eagles’ five straight UAAP men’s championship teams.

Fajardo stayed on at UC, powering the school to the Cesafi title in 2011. He later suited up for San Miguel Beer in the Asean Basketball League (ABL) that finished runner-up to the Indonesia Warriors in the 2012 Finals.

He was last year’s top rookie pick in the league and finished runner-up behind Alaska’s Calvin Abueva for the Rookie of the Year plum.