For a change, Coach Leo Austria will now have to devise schemes against June Mar Fajardo in the highly anticipated 2026 PBA All-Star Game in March.
After steering San Miguel to a successful Philippine Cup title defense together just last February 1, the two will be on opposite sides in the main offering of the midseason extravaganza to be held at the Candon City Arena in Ilocos Sur.
The four-time PBA Press Corps Coach of the Year is tasked to mentor Solid North, in which he will have four of the league’s top big men at his disposal.
Leading the fray is Ginebra vet Japeth Aguilar, who’s voted as one of its starters along with new Converge acquisition Calvin Abueva, Beermen guard CJ Perez, another King in Stephen Holt, and FiberXers rookie Juan Gomez de Liano.
Converge’s twin towers of Justin Arana and Justine Baltazar are also part of Solid North, together with rising Magnolia star Zavier Lucero, giving Austria a surplus of elite frontcourt players to throw the nine-time MVP’s way.
Completing the squad is Rain or Shine highflyer Adrian Nocum, the Meralco tandem of Chris Newsome and CJ Cansino, and SMB’s Don Trollano.
Fajardo, on the other hand, banners Solid South together with 2022 PBA MVP Scottie Thompson and last season’s Rookie of the Year RJ Abarrientos of Ginebra, TNT lead winger Calvin Oftana, and Robert Bolick of NLEX.
Tropang 5G guards Roger Pogoy and Rey Nambatac, San Miguel’s Jericho Cruz, Elasto Painters forwards Santi Santillan and Caelan Tiongson, another FiberXer in Alec Stockton, and Road Warrior JB Bahio complete the crew.
Head coach would be TNT chief bench tactician Chot Reyes as he’s battling a budding rival in Austria yet again after the recent Philippine Cup Finals.
The 2026 All-Star Game marks the first North vs. South affair in seven years or since the 2019 festivities in Calasiao, Pangasinan where the North All-Stars of Aguilar won, 185-170, in the highest-scoring PBA ASG in history.
The league veered away from the traditional format in the past two editions after it emulated the NBA, in which fans voted up 24 players and two head coaches. The two highest vote-getters were then named as team captains.
This time, fans voted for the starting fives of each team, while the rest of the North and South rosters were later filled in by all 12 PBA coaches.
Expected to be rolled out in the coming days, meanwhile. are the official lineups for the Rookies-Sophomores vs. Juniors of the Blitz Game.
Participants for the All-Star side events have been unveiled the other day, with Oftana set to defend his Three-Point Shootout title against a field led by Marcio Lassiter and JM Calma out to retain the Obstacle Challenge crown.
