2015 PBA All-Star Weekend

The 2015 PBA All-Star Weekend, also known as the 2015 Smart-PBA All-Star for sponsorship reasons, was the annual all-star weekend of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA)'s 2014–15 season. The events were held at the Puerto Princesa Coliseum in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. This was the second time that Puerto Princesa hosted the all-star weekend. Highlighting the weekend was the return of the North vs. South format of the All-Star game.

2015 PBA All-Star Weekend
North All-Stars South All-Stars
166 161
1234 Total
North All-Stars 41404441 166
South All-Stars 48404726 161
DateMarch 6–8, 2015[1]
VenuePuerto Princesa Coliseum, Puerto Princesa
MVPTerrence Romeo
(GlobalPort Batang Pier)
NetworkTV5
← 2014
2016 →

All-Star Weekend (Friday events)

edit

Rookies vs. Sophomores game

edit

The Rookies vs. Sophomores game was the main attraction for the Friday events. The last edition of this event was held in 2011.[2] The following rules were observed during the game:

  1. The game consists of four 10-minute quarters. The time will be running during dead ball situations except for the last two minutes of each quarter.
  2. The shot clock is reduced to 18 seconds.
  3. The time limit for a team to advance the ball over the center line is reduced to six seconds.
  4. No players will be fouled out. However, after the seventh personal foul of the player, the team will be put automatically to penalty.
  5. Two free throws will be given to a player who was fouled if it is not act of shooting, three free throws if it is from a missed shot, four free throws if the missed shot came from the three-point area.
  6. One timeout is given to each team for the first to third quarters and two timeouts are given to each team for the fourth quarter. Also, the teams will have a thirty-second timeout for each half.
  7. Dunks are scored as three points.

Game

edit
March 6
7:00pm
Rookies 150, Sophomores 131
Pts: Kevin Alas 35 Pts: Terrence Romeo 50
Matt Ganuelas-Rosser was named as the game's MVP.

Obstacle Challenge

edit
Contestants[3]
Pos. Player Team Height Weight First round Final round
G Jeric Fortuna San Miguel Beermen 5–8 150 32s 32.1s
G Jonas Villanueva NLEX Road Warriors 6–0 170 34s 37.7s
G Chris Banchero Alaska Aces 6–1 185 28s 45s
G Brian Heruela Blackwater Elite 5–10 195 37s
G Jayson Castro Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters 5–11 185 37s
G LA Revilla Kia Carnival 5–8 165 38s
F Simon Atkins Meralco Bolts 5–11 185 38s
G Mark Barroca Purefoods Star Hotshots 5–11 170 38s
G Paul Lee Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 6–0 200 39s
G LA Tenorio Barangay Ginebra San Miguel 5–7 155 42s
G Stanley Pringle GlobalPort Batang Pier 6–1 185 44s
  • Gold represent the current champion.
  • Jeric Fortuna won in this year's Obstacle Challenge

Three-Point Contest

edit
Contestants[3]
Pos. Player Team Height Weight First round Final round
G Terrence Romeo GlobalPort Batang Pier 5–11 190 18 18
G James Yap Purefoods Star Hotshots 6–3 205 18 14
G JC Intal Barako Bull Energy 6–4 195 18 11
G Mark Macapagal Meralco Bolts 6–2 185 16
G Jimmy Alapag Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters* 5–9 160 15
G Niño Canaleta NLEX Road Warriors 6–6 200 15
G Chris Tiu Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 5–11 170 14
G LA Tenorio Barangay Ginebra San Miguel 5–7 155 13
G LA Revilla Kia Carnival 5–6 165 10
G Brian Heruela Blackwater Elite 5–10 195 10
G Chris Banchero Alaska Aces 6–1 195 9
F Arwind Santos San Miguel Beermen 6–4 175 6
  • Gold represent current champion.
  • Terrence Romeo won in this year's Three Point Shootout

Slam Dunk Contest

edit
Contestants[3]
Pos. Player Team Height Weight First round Final round
G Rey Guevarra Meralco Bolts 6–2 210 93 (45 48) 99 (49 50)
F Japeth Aguilar Barangay Ginebra San Miguel 6–9 225 95 (50 45) 97 (47 50)
F Matt Ganuelas-Rosser Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters 6–5 186 91 (46 45)
F/G JC Intal Barako Bull Energy 6–4 195 90 (45 45)
G Justin Melton Purefoods Star Hotshots 5–9 165 70 (25 45)
F Chris EllisINJ Barangay Ginebra San Miguel 6–5 185
F Niño CanaletaOUT NLEX Road Warriors 6–6 200
  • Gold represent the current champion.
  • Rey Guevarra won in this event, earning his second consecutive title.

^OUT Canaleta did not participate due to a worn-out knee.[4]
^INJ Ellis did not participate due to a swollen ankle injury.[5]

All-Star Game

edit

Coaches

edit

Leo Austria, coach of the San Miguel Beermen, and Alex Compton, coach of the Alaska Aces, were selected as the North and the South head coach, respectively. As with the past All-Star Games, the coaches of the teams who entered the season's Philippine Cup Finals will coach the all-star teams.[6]

Roster

edit

The rosters for the All-Star Game were chosen in two ways. The starters were chosen via a fan ballot (online and at the venue during PBA games). Players are assigned to represent the North or South All-Star teams based from their place of birth. Players born in Luzon are assigned to the North All-Stars team while players born in Visayas and Mindanao are assigned to represent the South All-Stars. If the player is born outside the Philippines, the player is assigned to his parents' birthplace. Two guards and three frontcourt players who received the highest vote were named the All-Star starters. The reserves are voted by the twelve PBA coaches after the results of the fan ballot are released.[7]

June Mar Fajardo of the San Miguel Beermen received the most number of fan ballots with 38,107 votes, which earned him a starting position as a center/forward in the South All-Stars team. Asi Taulava of the NLEX Road Warriors earned a record 13th All-Star selection. Taulava, Greg Slaughter, James Yap and Mark Barroca completed the South All-Stars.[8]

The North All-Stars' leading vote-getter was Purefoods Star Hotshots' Marc Pingris, who finished with 23,947. Japeth Aguilar, Mark Caguioa, Justin Melton and Calvin Abueva completed the starting position for the North All-Stars.[8]

Jimmy Alapag, who announced his retirement on January 9, 2015 has been added as the 13th man of the South All-Stars by PBA commissioner Chito Salud. He is the current team manager of his former team, the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters. The retirement of his #3 jersey by Talk 'N Text is also scheduled to be held during the All-Star game.[9]

  • INJ^ ^ ^ Caguioa, Hontiveros and Fajardo were unable to participate due to injury.[12][13]
  • ^1 Alapag played for Talk 'N Text in the Philippine Cup. He now serves as its team manager.[9]
  • ^ST1 Jayson Castro started in place of Mark Caguioa[14]
  • ^ST2 Joe Devance started in place of June Mar Fajardo[14]
  • REP1^ Tenorio was named as Caguioa's replacement[14]

Game

edit
March 8
4:00pm
North All-Stars 166, South All-Stars 161
Scoring by quarter: 41–48, 40–40, 44–47, 41–26
Pts: Calvin Abueva 37
Rebs: Calvin Abueva 16
Asts: Calvin Abueva 7
Pts: PJ Simon 24
Rebs: Asi Taulava 15
Asts: Jimmy Alapag 17

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "FANS TO SEE MORE OF PACQUIAO IN ALL-STAR WEEKEND, COMM'S CUP". PBA.ph. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  2. ^ Manny Pacquiao in lineup for Rookies-Sophomores game in PBA All-Star weekend, GMA News Online, February 17, 2015
  3. ^ a b c "KG Canaleta back to challenge young high-flyers Justin Melton, Chris Ellis in Slam Dunk contest". spin.ph. February 17, 2015. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
  4. ^ Five-time champion KG Canaleta pulling out of slam dunk contest, cites knee problem, Richard Dy, spin.ph, February 21, 2015
  5. ^ Air Force Ellis grounded with swelling in ankles, pulls out of All-Star dunk contest, Richard Dy. spin.ph, March 4, 2015
  6. ^ NORTH VS SOUTH BACK IN 2015 ALL-STAR GAME, PBA.ph, January 7, 2015
  7. ^ SOUTH GIANTS FAJARDO & SLAUGHTER FINISH 1-2 IN ALL-STAR FAN VOTES; PINGRIS TOPS NORTH, PBA.ph, February 12, 2015
  8. ^ a b Triple Towers' Fajardo, Slaughter, Taulava to start for South after emerging top vote-getters for PBA All-Star Game by: Karlo Sacamos, spin.ph, February 12, 2015
  9. ^ a b ONE FAREWELL GAME FOR THE MIGHTY MOUSE, PBA.ph, February 5, 2015
  10. ^ a b Fajardo tops PBA All-Star voting, to team up with Slaughter for South squad; Pingris, Abueva to lead North starters Archived 2015-02-12 at the Wayback Machine, interaksyon.com, February 12, 2015
  11. ^ a b Rain or Shine to have four players as PBA All-Star Game reserves; Pringle, Romeo, Santos, Simon also make the cut Archived 2015-02-17 at the Wayback Machine, interaksyon.com, February 16, 2015
  12. ^ Mark Caguioa, Dondon Hontiveros to sit out PBA All-Star Game due to injuries, Snow Badua, spin.ph, March 3, 2015
  13. ^ June Mar Fajardo injury dampens PBA All-Star team-up with longtime rival Greg Slaughter, Richard Dy, spin.ph, March 3, 2015
  14. ^ a b c South’s Joe Devance, North’s Jayson Castro in as All-Star starters in place of injured teammates Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine, Rey Joble, interaksyon.com, March 5, 2015