The PBA All-Star is finally coming back.
Based on the Governors’ Cup schedule released by the league Tuesday, the gap between the March 8 and March 15 gamedays is for the long-awaited festivities, which was last held back in 2019 in Pangasinan.
Commissioner Willie Marcial confirmed as much to Tiebreaker Times.
Details, however, have yet to be finalized.
The PBA has not hosted any midseason spectacle since the onset of the pandemic back in March 2020. Pro leagues in general had to hold their competitions in bubble setups, with no fans in attendance.
But Asia’s pioneering pro league has always wanted to bring back the All-Star, with Marcial saying in an interview back in January of last year that the event has always been important, particularly to the Players Trust Fund.
It is yet to be confirmed as to where the 2023 All-Star will be held. The 2020 edition was supposed to take place in Iloilo until the global health crisis threw a monkey wrench into the league’s many plans for that year.
Successful was the Calasiao event in 2019, which saw North keep its mastery of South, 185-170, in the highest-scoring All-Star Game in league history. Arwind Santos and Japeth Aguilar went on to share ASG MVP honors.
The season-ending conference opening this Sunday at the Philsports Arena will be a busy one. Aside from playing five game days a week, the schedule has also been tweaked to give way to teams with non-PBA assignments.
Reigning champs Ginebra, TNT, and San Miguel, for one, will be given a week to prepare. Players from the trio will likely form the Gilas Pilipinas pool for the sixth window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers on February 24-27.
The Beermen and the Tropang Giga would then head to Japan shortly after for the East Asia Super League (EASL) Champions Week. The Philippine Cup finalists won’t resume their respective PBA campaigns until March 15.
Meanwhile, the Barangay will start their title defense bid against Rain or Shine on February 5 against Rain or Shine — three weeks after conquering the Commissioner’s Cup at the expense of guest team Bay Area.
The Kings are in the center of rivalry affairs in the season-ending tourney, with their highly-anticipated Manila Clasico clash with Magnolia set to take place on February 12, Sunday, 5:45 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
The rematch of last season’s Governors’ Cup Finals between Ginebra and Meralco, on the other hand, is scheduled on March 1, Wednesday, 5:45 PM at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
