All-Stars joke it out in final workout, but are up for ‘competitive’ game
CANDON, Ilocos Sur—A part of the North team’s practice on the eve of Sunday’s PBA All-Star Game here became like a series of pickup games.
While using it as a way to make sure that “everything’s organized,” as coach Leo Austria put it, by the time the North plays the South at Candon City Arena, the stars of the league were like kids spending their afternoons on a barangay court.
The Converge twin tower combo of Justin Arana and Justine Baltazar was on opposite sides, CJ Perez kept jacking up four-point shots and so did his San Miguel Beer teammate Don Trollano.
Japeth Aguilar tried his luck at a four-point attempt, atoning for one miss with a two-handed dunk before smiling back at the court. Chris Newsome, on the other hand, playfully fouled Aguilar like it was those old championship battles between Barangay Ginebra and Meralco.
Rain or Shine’s Adrian Nocum, set for his All-Star debut, would flash some acrobatic moves, even one that allowed him to score off Aguilar, much to the latter’s disbelief.
Fellow Elasto Painter Gian Mamuyac would smile while protesting to Austria for any sort of fouls in hopes of his team getting an advantage. In the end, Trollano wound up securing two wins by way of three-pointers on both occasions.
“For sure, tomorrow’s game will be competitive. Pero ngayon, parang papawis lang (but for now, it’s just to sweat it out),” said Aguilar, who was called “Tito Japeth” by his North teammates, being the senior statesman of the All-Star return.
It will be Aguilar’s 10th appearance in the classic, which is more of providing entertainment and less of a playoff-like affair, unless the situation calls for it.
The game is a capper to Friday’s event held in this city, located more than 300 kilometers from the friendly confines of Metro Manila.
The event started well on Friday, with the skills event that saw Terrafirma’s Jerrick Ahanmisi getting the spotlight with a rare double, having won the Obstacle Challenge and the centerpiece Three-Point Shootout.
He won the shootout by dropping 30 points in the final round, denying San Miguel Beer’s Marcio Lassiter of an elusive first-ever title. Lassiter had 25.
“It’s just a product of hard work every single day, the things that people don’t see on camera, the things that people don’t see when they’re watching practices or watching games,” said Ahanmisi.
Meralco’s Brandon Bates won the Obstacle Challenge for big men and celebrated like he had won the lottery.
Friday’s event concluded with the Rookies Sophomores winning over the Juniors, 154-150, sealed by key plays from Magnolia’s Jerom Lastimosa, who went on to secure Most Valuable Player honors.
Four PBA legends saw action, with Arwind Santos and Willie Miller for the winning Rookies Sophomores and the duo of Marc Pingris and Ranidel de Ocampo for the Juniors.
“We really had fun,” said Santos, who added that they wanted to make sure that they came here with the intent of winning.
“We didn’t come here for a vacation. We came here to win,” Santos said, recalling the pregame talk with the Rookies Sophomores side.
