The voting for the lineup for the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) All-Star game has taken a surprising turn.
After the second week of voting, Japeth Aguilar of Ginebra has overtaken June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel to become the new leader in voting.
The 6-foot-9 center received 190,273 votes, pushing him to the top spot from his previous position at number 3.
Scottie Thompson of Ginebra remains at the second spot with 186,187 votes, while Fajardo has fallen to third with 183,903 votes.
The biggest surprise of the voting is the rise of Rain or Shine’s rookie, Gian Mamuyac. The young player from Ateneo made a significant jump to the top 10 list, coming in at number 6 with 170,359 votes. This is a remarkable achievement for Mamuyac, who was not even in the top 24 during the initial voting last week.
Jamie Malonzo of Ginebra and Calvin Abueva of Magnolia have kept their fourth and fifth positions with 174,112 and 172,383 votes respectively. Two-time MVP James Yap has moved up to number 7 with 170,313 votes, followed by Christian Standhardinger of Ginebra (169,718), CJ Perez of San Miguel (169,036), and LA Tenorio of Ginebra (166,317).
The voting continues online and in-person until February 15th, with the All-Star weekend taking place from March 9-12 in Passi City, Iloilo.
Tim Cone and Yeng Guiao continue to be the favorite choices for the coaching positions, with Cone receiving 224,430 votes and Guiao receiving 208,429 votes. Rookie coach Aldin Ayo remains at number 3 with 142,155 votes, while Chito Victolero of Magnolia has overtaken Norman Black of Meralco for the fourth position with 129,590 votes.
The rest of the players who made it to the top 24 list include Stanley Pringle (163,595), Paul Lee (156,482), Jayson Castro (155,800), Terrence Romeo (155,651), Robert Bolick (150,241), Mark Barroca (147,995), Jeremiah Gray (146,966), Marcio Lassiter (145,335), Roger Pogoy (145,274), Arvin Tolentino (144,439), Chris Newsome (144,422), Mikey Williams (142,810), Kevin Alas (137,626), and Gabe Norwood (137,445).
Mamuyac leads the voting for the Rookie/Sophomores-Juniors game with 205,616 votes, followed by Malonzo (194,340), Gray (179,800), Tolentino (171,840), and Calvin Oftana (171,840). The top 20 list also includes Shaun Ildefonso (170,635), Justin Arana (166,968), Aaron Black (166,539), Tyler Tio (165,989), Mikey Williams (165,778), Jerrick Ahanmisi (162,471), Brandon Rosser (152,100), Jerrick Balanza (151,865), RK Ilagan (151,145), Allyn Bulanadi (150,521), Isaac Go (148,919), Mike Nieto (146,878), Matt Nieto (146,583), Joshua Munzon (146,286), and Anton Asistio (146,058).
