North battles South in All-Star Week’s main fare

CALASIAO, Pangasinan—The young turks of the league set the tone for this year’s PBA All-Star weekend.

Divided into a rookies-sophomore squad and a team made up of third year pros for a remodeled version of a dug-up format from three decades ago, the young stars entertained for three quarters at Calasiao Sports Complex here.

“But in the fourth, it got really competitive because everyone wanted to win,” said Columbian’s CJ Perez, who was named MVP of the game where the league’s first- and second-year stars beat the Juniors squad, 141-140, on Friday night.

That game worked itself to a nail-biting ending where Rain or Shine rookie Javee Mocon tipped in Perez’s miss at the buzzer for the win.

Now the veterans have a standard to match when the North and South all-stars clash on Sunday.

In what has been billed as a battle for regional pride, ex all-star MVPs like San Miguel Beer’s Arwind Santos and Alex Cabagnot will try to lead the North squad against the South team that features Rain or Shine’s James Yap and the Beermen’s Terrence Romeo.

Phoenix Pulse’s Louie Alas (North) and Rain or Shine’s Caloy Garcia (South) will make their all-star coaching debuts.

There’ll be room for nostalgia, too.

Benjie Paras, Ronnie Magsanoc, Alvin Patrimonio and Jerry Codinera, participants in the inaugural all-star event in 1989, will make an appearance in the main game.

Paras and Magsanoc will join Alas and the North team while Patrimonio and Codinera will be with Garcia’s South squad.

LA Tenorio, Paul Lee, Calvin Abueva, Japeth Aguilar and Marcio Lassiter form North’s starting unit versus South’s June Mar Fajardo, Greg Slaughter, James Yap, Mark Barroca and Scottie Thompson.