Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
Leading vote-getter Scottie Thompson and the rest of the Mindanao All-Stars will have their hands full when it takes on Gilas Pilipinas in the first leg of the 2018 PBA All-Star Week in Digos, Davao del Sur on May 23.
Ginebra head coach Tim Cone, who was tasked to lead the selection, reunites with former players Mark Barroca, Peter June Simon, and Rafi Reavis.
Also part of the Mindanao team are young guns Jio Jalalon, Mac Belo, Baser Amer, and JP Erram, as well as veterans Cyrus Baguio, Sonny Thoss, RR Garcia, and Carlo Lastimosa.
The superstars from the South get the first crack on the Nationals, who are starting their preparations for the third window of the 2019 Fiba World Cup qualifiers in June.
Coach Chot Reyes will be parading a Gilas lineup which is virtually the same as to that 12-man roster he fielded in for the 2017 Seaba Championship last year.
Jayson Castro, June Mar Fajardo, and Calvin Abueva headline the loaded national team which seeks to replicate the Nationals’ unblemished record last season.
Terrence Romeo also makes his Gilas return in the game, as he will be joined by Gabe Norwood, Japeth Aguilar, Troy Rosario, Allein Maliksi, Roger Pogoy, Matthew Wright, Kiefer Ravena, and Carl Bryan Cruz.
After the Mindanao leg, the midseason extravaganza shifts to Batangas City on May 25 before ending in Ilo-ilo on May 27.