PBA Analysis: Did Ginebra found a better center than Slaughter?

 

Japeth Aguilar entered the PBA bubble, still nursing an injury. Greg Slaughter decided to take a leave from the league.

Ginebra did not make any move. The result? They may have unearthed another starting-caliber center in Prince Caperal.

Ginebra averaged less than six three-pointer makes in the last edition of the Philippine Cup. In the first two games of Ginebra, they already connected on 26 tries.

And can you guess who is leading them?

Yes. Prince Caperal with eight three-pointers. Caperal is currently averaging 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 4 three-pointers make and 80% 3FG per game. 

Yes, a center is shooting 80% from beyond the arc. Remember the recent video that Greg posted? Yes, the one where he was practicing his three-point shot?

Caperal did it on a real game.

Currently, the net rating of Prince is 25.5. It means that per 100 possessions, Ginebra outscores their opponent by 25.5 points when he is on the court.

Ginebra is a different team with Caperal on the middle. They are suddenly a different team. In the 2019 Philippine Cup, they were in the bottom three in terms of scoring. Now, they are at the top 3.

To be fair though, Slaughter is better defensively. His effect on the opponent is something that will be hard to equalize because he is the biggest player in the PBA.

Overall, it is still hard to say if Caperal is actually better than Slaughter. What is obvious though is that Ginebra with Caperal is different from the Ginebra with Slaughter.