The battlelines have been drawn
Meralco’s Norman Black and NLEX’s Yeng Guiao are set to return to the PBA’s summer classic, while TNT’s Nash Racela will make his All-Star Game debut next week.
The three champion mentors take over the coaching chores from Chot Reyes, as they will take turns handling the Smart-PBA All-Star national team that will go up against the three All-Star selections during the May 23-27 event with Phoenix Fuel-Phoenix Pulse Technology as major sponsor.
Black gets his hands on first against the Mindanao All-Star, coached by long-time rival Tim Cone on May 23 in Digos, Davao del Sur.
Then on the 25th in Batangas City, Guiao will handle the national team versus coach Leo Austria and the Luzon All-Star.
Finally, Racela will call the shots for the national squad on the 27th, when it battles Chito Victolero and the Visayas All-Star in the final leg of the festivities.
This serves as a homecoming of sorts for both Black and Guiao.
Black last coached an All-Star game in 1997 yet, while Guiao was at the helm of the North All-Star team that thrashed the South All-Star in a high-scoring game, 154-151, during the 2016 edition of the meet held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
