CANDON CITY, Ilocos Sur — PBA legends have come in to add more excitement to the Blitz Game of the Season 50 All-Star festivities.
Former MVPs Willie Miller and Arwind Santos, together with Gilas icons Marc Pingris and Ranidel De Ocampo, will be seeing action in the bout pitting some of the league’s future stars this Friday at the Candon City Arena here.
Miller, twice a winner of the league’s highest individual award and currently an assistant coach for Converge; and Santos, the 2012 winner whose no. 29 was retired by San Miguel in 2024, will reinforce the Rookies/Sophomores side.
The tandem will be playing alongside Sedrick Barefield, Jerom Lastimosa, Kai Ballungay, Sonny Estil, Dalph Panopio, JM Bravo, Felix Lemetti, Evan Nelle, Chris Miller, Mike Malonzo, Xyrus Torres, and Brandon Ramirez.
“It’s been a while since I last played sa All-Star,” reflected Miller, who earned nine All-Star citations during his PBA career that ran for 14 seasons.
On the other hand, Pingris and De Ocampo — who has been a deputy of Coach Chot Reyes in TNT — will reunite and join the Juniors side.
Together, they will be sharing the hardwood with Ricci Rivero, Brandon Bates, Ralph Cu, Kim Aurin, Fran Yu, Kenneth Tuffin, Deschon Winston, Cade Flores, Henry Galinato, Dom Fajardo, MJ Garcia, and King Caralipio.
De Ocampo and Miller arrived in this city on Thursday morning together with the PBA contingent. Santos and Pingris are expected to arrive later in the day.
The Blitz Game will feature the ‘Blitz 3’ rule, in which a fastbreak basket will be counted as three points provided that it’s made within seven seconds or less. It is scheduled for a 7:00 PM tip-off.
The Rookies/Sophomores vs. Juniors setup marks its return after seven years, or since its first edition during the 2019 All-Stars in Calasiao, Pangasinan. Led by CJ Perez, the Rookies-Sophomores came from behind and won, 141-140.
