PBA stars to descend in Davao

PBA stars to descend in Davao | Daily Tribune

Proud sons of Mindanao get a chance to showcase their skills in front of their home crowd down south as part of the 2025 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) All-Star Weekend festivities coming this May in Davao del Norte.

An all-Mindanao showdown has been added to the list of events to spice up the annual cage spectacle firing off on 2 to 4 May in Davao City and Panabo City.

“We formed two teams composed of players from Mindanao. We have a lot of players who hail from Mindanao. We have about 20 to 24 players (selected),” PBA commissioner Willie Marcial shared.

Barangay Ginebra star Scottie Thompson, a Digos, Davao del Sur native, and Mark Barroca of Magnolia, a Zamboanga City native, are expected to lead the first-ever staging of the event.

The PBA hopes to boost interest from its provincial fanbase by putting its stars hailing from the region in the spotlight through the innovative event.

“We’re doing this because we want fans from Mindanao to enjoy seeing their fellow Mindanaoan (PBA stars) play. It’s Mindanao vs Mindanao,” he added.

Cagayan de Oro City’s Poy Erram of TNT and Jio Jalalon of NorthPort, and Ginebra guard Nards Pinto of Davao City are also expected to banner the game.

The league is also bringing back the Veterans vs RSJ (rookies, sophomores and juniors) after 13 years as part of its exhibition matches aside from the main All-Stars game.

Marcial said that the league is looking for different formats and events to make the All-Stars entertaining and fun for fans.

The past two editions of the All-Stars followed the National Basketball Association (NBA) format of allowing the top two vote-getters in the All-Star poll to choose their teammates in a special draft.

Kings big man Japeth Aguilar and Barroca were named captains in last year’s All-Stars that ended in a draw, 140-140, in Bacolod.

“Fans might be tired of the drafting (format). So, we’re looking for ways to make it more exciting. If it doesn’t work, we’ll revert to the old format,” Marcial said.

“Like this Mindanao game, this is something new. We’ll see how the fans will react to it since they will also vote for who they want to play,” the PBA official added.

“Since Scottie is a shoo-in (in the all-Mindanao match) we’ll exempt him.”

The PBA All-Star voting began last 5 February through online voting on the league’s website or on-site casting on game venues.

A twist is added in the Three-point Shootout as there will also be a four-point line while the league is looking for a possible change in the format of the Skills Challenge.

There will also be a Shooting Stars event while the return of the Slam Dunk Contest is also being discussed.